THERESA May’s reign as Prime Minister could come crashing to a halt today, with angry Tory MPs calling for a vote of no confidence.

Reports yesterday suggested that the number of backbenchers looking to replace May had come perilously close to 48 – the number required under party rules to trigger a leadership contest.

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That was despite the beleaguered Prime Minister managing to secure the support of the Cabinet for her draft Brexit agreement.

In a statement read outside Number 10, after a mammoth and bad tempered five-hour meeting, the Tory leader said the “collective decision of Cabinet was that the Government should agree the draft withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration”.

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But it was not the unanimous decision of Cabinet, with at least 10 ministers objecting.

The Prime Minister said there would be “difficult days ahead” for the agreement and she expected it to “come under intense scrutiny”.

May added: “I believe that what I owe to this country is to take decisions that are in the national interest.

“And I firmly believe, with my head and my heart, that this is a decision which is in the best interests of our entire united Kingdom.”

The Government published all 585 pages of the withdrawal agreement shortly after the statement.

Controversially, the backstop, the safety net to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland if the UK and the EU can’t agree a deal, includes “Northern Ireland specific regulatory alignment”.

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That will infuriate the DUP and Scottish Tories who have long insisted there can be no difference between the province and the rest of the UK.

Brexiteers will likely be angered by how munch influence the European Court of Justice keeps if there is no deal, and over the mechanism agreed to end the backstop.

Earlier, during Prime Minister’s Questions, Jeremy Corbyn asked May if the UK could choose unilaterally to leave the backstop or if we would need EU permission.

The Prime Minister was unable to fully answer: “I am aware of the concerns that there are, that we don’t want to be in a position where the European Union would find it comfortable to keep the UK in the backstop permanently.

“That’s why any backstop has to be temporary.”

But the draft agreement made clear that there would need to be a joint decision.

It also said that under the backstop the European Court of Justice would still have jurisdiction in the UK in respect of the EU customs code, technical regulations, VAT and excise, agriculture and the environment, single electricity market and state aid.

However, Cabinet support paves the way for a special Brexit summit in Brussels – probably on November 25 – for EU leaders to approve the deal, before it then goes to the Commons.

At the moment it seems unlikely May has the support to get the deal passed by MPs. She’ll need at least 320 to support her.

Leading Brexiteer Peter Bone, who five months ago wanted to erect a statue of May the “Brexit Queen” in his constituency, told the Prime Minister: “If the media reports about the EU agreement are in any way accurate, you will not be delivering the Brexit people voted for and today you will lose the support of many Conservative MPs and millions of voters across the country.”

Responding to the Brexit statement, Nicola Sturgeon called for a proper meaningful vote and said MPs shouldn’t be “faced with a false choice between a bad deal and no deal”.

The First Minister added: “No-one should be effectively blackmailed into a choice between the frying pan or the fire.

“This proposed deal would be a bad one for Scotland, taking us out of a single market eight-times the size of the UK market alone and posing a huge threat to jobs, investment and living standards.

”If this deal is indeed rejected by Parliament then the UK Government must return to the negotiating table to secure a better one.

“Our bottom line – short of continued EU membership – is continued, permanent membership of the single market and customs union.”