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A Tory Brexiteer coup against Theresa May as Prime Minister is reportedly 11 votes short of the 48 needed to trigger a confidence vote.

The Sun reported the number of no confidence letters submitted to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the backbench 1922 committee, stood at 37.

Forty-eight letters are needed to spark a confidence ballot among all Conservative MPs. The paper claimed 15 backbenchers have submitted letters in private. Twenty-two, including Jacob Rees-Mogg, have done so publicly.

It comes as Mrs May announced she would appear on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday show to address the Tory civil war over her draft Brexit deal.

After a tumultuous week that saw the departure of ministers including Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, Mrs May has remained defiant over her proposed divorce deal.

But the Prime Minister's critics believe they have the numbers required to trigger a confidence vote within days.

And Brexit-supporting ministers led by Andrea Leadsom are reportedly set to work together on measures to make the deal more acceptable to them.

The group, including Michael Gove, Penny Mordaunt, Liam Fox and Chris Grayling, were said to be trying to alter the government’s proposals on the Irish backstop, which has been one of the main stumbling blocks in negotiations.

Ms Leadsom, however, insisted on Saturday that she is "absolutely determined" to support Ms May in getting the best Brexit deal for the UK.

She said: "There is still more to be done and we do still have more time before the EU Council at the end of the month, so I'm absolutely committed to getting the Brexit that 17.4 million people voted for."

Failure to reach the threshold for a no confidence vote could mean embarrassment for the Brexiteer group, but a vote could still go ahead next week.

Mr Gove offered the PM a lifeline by staying in his Cabinet role amid a slew of resignations earlier this week.

Meanwhile, one minister warned on Saturday that Remain-supporting Tory MPs could try and stop Brexit entirely if "purists" scupper the Prime Minister’s deal.

Middle East minister Alistair Burt responded bluntly to a tweet by Brexiteer Steve Baker – one of the 22 so far to publicly call for Ms May to go – which criticised her deal.

Mr Burt wrote: "Be very clear. If an agreed deal on leaving between the Govt and the EU is voted down by purist Brexiteers, do not be surprised if consensus on accepting the result of the Referendum by Remain voting MPs breaks down. Parliament will not support no deal."

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, meanwhile, even suggested Labour could negotiate Ms May's withdrawal agreement before Britain is due to leave the European Union.

He told Sky there was support in Parliament and in Europe for a "unity platform" that avoided a no-deal Brexit when the UK leaves in March.

"I think we can do it with good will,” he said. “We can change the atmosphere of negotiations into one of mutual interest and mutual benefit.

“On that basis I think we can have a constructive negotiation rather than the dreadful way in which the government has negotiated over the last two years."

Additional reporting by Press Association.