DOWNING STREET was slammed today for resisting an investigation into allegations of blackmail and bullying being used to force Tory MPs to support Boris Johnson.

The PM claims to have seen nothing suggesting that bullying has been used to secure support for his premiership in the continued fall out from “partygate.”

Downing Street said an investigation would only be launched “if there was any evidence” to support the claims.

Hitting back at the Prime Minister, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said it was “another load of old cobblers from the disgraced Prime Minister about seeing nothing, no evidence, didn’t realise it broke the rules etc.”

Allies of Mr Johnson have been accused of waging a campaign of threats to shore up support for him as Tory backbenchers decide whether to add their names to the call for a vote of no confidence.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng insisted that the allegations needed to be looked at and that, if true, would be “completely unacceptable.”

But No 10 appeared to be shying away from an investigation today, even though the Prime Minister had indicated on Thursday that the allegations would “of course” be looked into.

In the continuing chaos in the Tory Party, a number of backbenchers pushing for the Prime Minister to go are said to be threatening to publish evidence of the blackmail.

There are claims that a secretly recorded phone conversation with the whips exists in which MPs were threatened.

New threats under a previous administration also emerged today when former Tory MP Ben Howlett said “some pretty devious tactics” had been used during the Brexit debates.

Senior Tory William Wragg said on Thursday that critics of the Prime Minister had been told funds could be withdrawn from their constituencies as part of “intimidation” tactics being used by whips and Downing Street staff.

Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, who defected from the Tories to Labour on Wednesday, also claims to have been the victim of bullying during his brief spell as a Tory MP.

Mr Wakeford claims that he was threatened that funding for a new school in his constituency would be stopped unless he toed the line.