Theresa May is planning to bring her Brexit deal back for another vote - even as Tory MPs plan to change the rules of their party's leadership elections so they can oust her.

The 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs met last night but discussions on whether a time limit banning successive leadership votes should be changed from a year to six months was said to be was 'inconclusive'.

The Prime Minister's party is furious that she has delayed Brexit and are angry that they have to contest EU Parliament elections on 23 May, when they will probably lose heavily to Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.

If MPs did change the time limit on no confidence votes in a leader to six months, the Prime Minister could face a vote on her leadership June 12. The last no confidence vote on May was in December as part of a failed coup plot led by Jacob Rees-Mogg. The 1922 Committee is understood to be considering further talks on the issue today.

It came as ministers gathered in Downing Street for the first time since the Prime Minister agreed to an EU Brexit extension until Halloween this year - and it emerged that the Prime Minister may try to bring her deal back again in the next ten days despite three defeats already.

The Prime Minister is holding cross-party talks with Labour in an attempt to find a Brexit compromise which will win the support of a majority of MPs.

But they appear to be faltering, and if they fail the Prime Minister could try and bring her Brexit deal back.

Mrs May's official spokesman also suggested Labour is dragging its feet over the Brexit talks and said: 'There have been difficulties in some areas such as timetabling of the negotiations', adding: 'Progress needs to be made urgently'.

Theresa May, pictured with her husband Philip on Easter Sunday, faced her ministers today as her own MPs plot to remove her from office

Remainer Amber Rudd was followed out of No 10 by Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt looks serious as she leaves talks with the PM

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson share a laugh as they leave No 10 today

He added: 'Every day that parliament doesn't ratify the withdrawal agreement, the harder it will be to avoid the European parliamentary elections, and the prime minister has made clear that she doesn't believe it is in the country's interests to take part in those elections'.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the treasurer of the backbench Tory 1922 Committee, had said he expected the group's executive to vote on Tuesday on whether to bring forward the date on which a challenge to Mrs May's leadership can be mounted by rebel MPs, but that vote now looks likely to happen later today.

How can Tory MPs oust Theresa May? Westminster is rife with rumours Tory MPs are so angry with Theresa May's Brexit pivot they want a new vote to remove her. The Prime Minister fought and won a vote of no confidence in her party leadership in December - meaning she cannot be forced out by party rules. But demands are mounting this afternoon for the party's backbench 1922 Committee to call another vote anyway. The theory is a new secret ballot would allow ministers to join a revolt and produce a landslide vote against Mrs May's leadership. Success would be yet another political humiliation piled onto the ailing Prime Minister. But she has already suffered more indignities than any leader in living memory and carried on regardless - so the plotters cannot be sure it would work. Advertisement

Under current rules, no confidence vote can be held for 12 months after the last challenge on December 12 2018, which Mrs May saw off by 200 votes to 117. Reports suggest that this grace period could be reduced to six months, allowing a new vote on June 12.

The Cotswolds MP told BBC Radio 4's World At One: 'That's what the executive will be debating when it meets. They have to decide whether they wish to change the rules or not.

'I suspect quite a robust discussion will take place, because the executive represents all wings of the party. Eventually a motion will be put and that will be voted on.

'I think it will be done by first-past-the-post, and if it succeeds then of course the vote which would otherwise have taken place on December 12 will be brought forward to whatever is agreed in the motion.'

The joint executive secretary of the 1922 Committee Nigel Evans says she should go now.

He said: 'To be honest I would be delighted if she announced today she was announcing her resignation and we could then have an orderly election to choose a new leader of the Conservative Party.

'I believe the only way we're going to break this impasse properly is if we have fresh leadership of the Conservative Party. If there was an announcement today by the Prime Minister then of course we could start the process straight away.'

He added: 'I have never said this before. I did say to Theresa May 'Do not breathe fresh life into Nigel Farage', and that's exactly what she has done. He has gone from his death bed to the Olympics, because Brexit hasn't happened.'

The Ribble Valley MP said he had reflected on the situation over the Easter break and said the 'severe problems' over Brexit meant Mrs May had to go 'as soon as possible'.

He told the BBC: 'I hope she does accept the fact the call for her resignation now is growing into a clamour.

'It's not now just within Westminster - we've heard the news that 70 chairs of Conservative Associations throughout the country have now said that they reluctantly have no confidence in the Prime Minister.'

Mr Evans said, with 40% of Conservative councillors likely to support Nigel Farage's Brexit Party in the European elections, Mrs May's position would be 'totally untenable'.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid, one of the favourites to replace Mrs May smiled as he entered the famous black door

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, arrives at No.10 Downing Street for a crunch cabinet meeting

Mrs May's de facto deputy David Lidington, Minister for the Cabinet Office, arrives at Downing Street today followed by Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes

When asked when Mrs May should step down, he added: 'Preferably today.

Conservative MP Nigel Evans (pictured) has abandoned his long-standing support for the PM because of her failure to deliver Brexit

'We need fresh leadership of the Conservative Party as quickly as possible - it can't start soon enough.'

The former deputy speaker said it was 'ludicrous' for the party to be fighting European elections costing more than £100million.

'We are asking candidates to put themselves forward for an election saying, 'We hope to have left before you can take up your seat',' he said. 'In what business would the chief executive be able to stay if £109million had been wasted? It's ludicrous for us to go down this route.'

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart has backed Theresa May as 'our best hope' of resolving Brexit.

He said: 'The problem is not the Prime Minister, the problem is Brexit'.

He said: 'I think she is doing a very, very important job and she needs to get the first stage of Brexit done.

'The idea somehow that some new, fresh leader with extraordinary charm and nimble feet would be able to suddenly get the deal across the line is mistaken.

'It's nothing to do with the individual, it is that people disagree deeply over Brexit.'

Theresa May, pictured at church on Easter Sunday with her husband Philip, could face pressure from backbench Conservative MPs to name a departure date

At the same time, it emerged that Tory Party bosses will be forced to hold an emergency conference of grassroots members after 70 local party chairmen signed a petition designed to force the PM from office.

Although they can't force Mrs May out, such a vote would intensify the pressure on her. After enjoying a week's walking holiday in Wales, the PM will pin her hopes on cross-party talks with Labour to secure a Brexit deal. But neither she nor Jeremy Corbyn will attend the first meeting this afternoon.

Arriving for cross-party talks at the Cabinet Office, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said: 'We are resuming the discussions with the Government this afternoon about Brexit and we are obviously looking forward to hearing their position on some of the key issues where there are some fundamental issues between us.

'We've been exchanging correspondence with the Government but now we want to know what is their position on the issues that remain between us. We look forward to hearing what they have to say this afternoon.'

Sir Keir was accompanied by shadow chancellor John McDonnell, shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey and shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman.

The Mail understands there were no formal meetings between the two sides last week, with discussions limited to 'positions exchanged on paper and email'.

One ministerial source said the PM has three weeks 'at most' to secure a deal with Labour or move on to a series of binding votes on different options. The 18 members of the 1922 executive are due to meet at 5pm in Committee Room 14.

One source said they expected a majority would back giving Mrs May an ultimatum to go by a particular date.

That could be in May after the European elections or as late as June 30, the date after which Mrs May said she could not continue as PM.

The source said that if Mrs May refused, the committee could tear up the rules, almost guaranteeing a no-confidence vote within days, or hold an 'indicative vote' of MPs on whether she should go.

One said: 'If we fight the EU elections it would be an appalling failure and she will have to go. We are not going to allow her to choose a date. We are going to give her a date.'

Allies of Mrs May insist she has no intention of hanging on. One said: 'The PM is not in a position where she wants to be there forever. If we can find a way to get a deal through Parliament she will go.'

However Dinah Glove, the chairman of the London East Conservatives, told the Mail Mrs May had abandoned her pledge to leave on March 30, abandoned her 'No Deal is better than a bad deal' mantra, and brought Jeremy Corbyn into the heart of government. 'She has to go now,' she said.