Who are the Tory rebels stripped of the party whip?

Minister Without Portfolio Ken Clarke leaves a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, after Prime Minister David Cameron hailed his ne

After the Government suffered a crushing defeat, in part orchestrated by some of its own MPs, 21 Conservatives have been stripped of the whip - effectively barring them from standing at a forthcoming general election as Tories.

Would-be rebels were warned ahead of the vote; should they stand against the Government then they'd lose the backing of the party.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered the move after they put forward a plan to take control of the Commons timetable, putting anti-no-deal advocates in a position to block an EU exit without agreements with Brussels.

So who are the rebels?

  • Ken Clarke

Ken Clarke is the longest standing member of the Commons. Credit: PA

The Member for Rushcliffe has represented his seat since 1970 - making him the longest standing MP and honorary Father of the House.

Mr Clarke, a former chancellor, home secretary, health secretary and education secretary, previously said he would stand in as PM in a Government of National Unity.

Speaking on the night of his sacking, Mr Clarke suggested his faith in the party, as it currently stands, is all but depleted: "I have to decide whether to vote Conservative if Boris Johnson is still the leader."

He continued: "It's the Brexit Party, rebadged."

  • Philip Hammond

Former chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond in Downing Street in central London. Credit: Kirsty O’Connor/PA

Theresa May’s chancellor, and previously foreign secretary, defence secretary, transport secretary - Philip Hammond is another household name to lose his Tory Party backing.

MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, he promised the "fight of a lifetime" if the leadership tried to block him from standing as the Tory candidate at the next election.

  • David Gauke

David Gauke has lost his Tory Party backing after rebelling. Credit: PA

Theresa May's justice secretary previously held Cabinet roles as work and pensions secretary and Treasury chief secretary.

MP for South West Hertfordshire enjoyed a comfortable majority of ‎19,550 votes - equating to 32.2% of the electorate - at the last election.

In the days preceding the vote, speaking about the deselection threat, he said: "It’s obviously a particularly confrontational approach, and I think designed to realign the Conservative party, to transform the Conservative party very much in the direction of a Brexit party."

  • Greg Clark

Clark is the MP for Tunbridge Wells, he served in the Cabinet under Mrs May and David Cameron as communities secretary and then business secretary.

Posting on social media, he said he knows "the harm that an abrupt no-deal Brexit would do to our country and to my constituents. Parliament must be able to prevent that harm. So I voted for the legislation tonight, fully aware of the personal consequences".

  • Sir Oliver Letwin

Sir Oliver Letwin tabled the motion for Tuesday's debate. Credit: PA

MP for West Dorset tabled the motion which brought forward Tuesday night's debate and subsequent vote.

Speaking ahead of the debate, he referred to Boris Johnson as "someone standing on one side of a canyon, shouting to people on the other side of the canyon, that if they do not do as he wishes then he will throw himself into the abyss.

"That is not a credible negotiating strategy."

Sir Letwin is regarded as one of the leading figures in the rebel group.

He played key roles in the Cameron government as Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

  • Dominic Grieve

The Beaconsfield MP and former attorney general is the legal brain behind a series of rebel moves to block a no-deal Brexit.

Speaking on Tuesday evening after he had been removed from the party roster, said this is "a very dangerous moment for the Conservative Party.

"I look at the emails I'm getting from Conservative voters saying they'll never vote Conservative again."

  • Rory Stewart

Penrith and The Border MP and former international development secretary. Stood against Mr Johnson in the Tory leadership race.

ITV News Political Correspondent Paul Brand believes he may weather the impending storm, tweeting: "Rory Stewart is one of the few Conservative rebels who could conceivably win an election as an independent candidate.

"I used to cover his patch as a regional journalist, and in Cumbria candidate recognition is ridiculously high."

  • Justine Greening

Greening is the former education secretary, international development secretary and transport secretary representing Remain-backing Putney in south-west London.

She told the PA news agency: "For me no-deal was always the most profoundly un-Conservative policy you could possibly have."

  • Sir Nicholas Soames

MP for Crawley from 1983 to 1997 and for Mid Sussex since then. He is a former defence minister and shadow defence secretary.

Soames is the grandson of Winston Churchill, who advocated for a cross-border alliance to bring security to the continent.

  • Alistair Burt

Burt is the North East Bedfordshire MP, a well-respected former Foreign Office minister - and has been a Tory Party member for more than five decades.

Speaking about being booted from the party, he said: "I think tomorrow morning the public will wonder what on Earth the Conservative Party is doing."

  • Sam Gyimah

The East Surrey MP, former education minister and former Tory leadership candidate turned who rebel said: "It's never pleasant to vote against your party.

"We were all individually contacted before the vote by the whips and told we'd have the whip removed if we voted against the motion.

"It's a sad moment. I've enjoyed being a Conservative Member of Parliament but voting to stop a no-deal was the right thing to do."

Who else has lost their Conservative Party backing?

  • Stephen Hammond: Wimbledon MP, former health minister.

  • Guto Bebb: Aberconwy MP, former defence minister.

  • Richard Benyon: Newbury MP, former minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • Steve Brine: Winchester MP, former junior health minister.

  • Richard Harrington: Watford MP, held a series of junior ministerial roles, most recently in the Business Department.

  • Margot James: Stourbridge MP, former digital policy minister.

  • Anne Milton: Guildford MP, former minister for women and education minister.

  • Caroline Nokes: MP for Romsey and Southampton North, was immigration minister in Mrs May’s government.

  • Edward Vaizey: Wantage MP, culture minister under Mr Cameron.

  • Antoinette Sandbach: Eddisbury MP, the only one of the rebels not to have held a frontbench position.