Senior ministers believe MPs are likely to vote down Boris Johnson's attempt to drive his domestic agenda through the House of Commons.

Government figures said they expected the Prime Minister to lose a vote that will follow next week's Queen's Speech, after Mr Johnson's majority was wiped out last month.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that a large number of the 21 MPs expelled by the Prime Minister over Brexit intend to support Mr Johnson in the vote. But even with their assistance, Mr Johnson would need the votes of opposition or independent MPs to win.

If he loses the vote, Mr Johnson is likely to face renewed calls from opposition leaders to resign. But his aides would view the move as adding further weight to the position he intends to take in an election - that Parliament is frustrating his attempts to deliver Brexit and key domestic policies and that voters should back him to help restore the Conservatives' majority.

The 21 departures, together with the defection of Phillip Lee, another former minister, wiped out the Tory majority in the Commons, even with its support from the 10 DUP MPs with whom the Government has a confidence and supply arrangement. Amber Rudd also quit the Conservative Party and her Cabinet post last month.