Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s job as the Speaker is on the line after he was accused of ‘bending the rules’ to save Sir Keir Starmer from a backbench revolt, amid reports of personal lobbying from the Labour leader.

The House of Commons descended into chaos last night as SNP and Tory MPs walked out of the chamber in a furious row over a vote on a Gaza ceasefire.

It was sparked by Sir Lindsay upending parliamentary convention by selecting Labour’s bid to amend an SNP motion on the Israel-Hamas war.

His decision sparked fury from the Conservative and SNP benches, who accused him of helping the Labour leader avoid another damaging revolt over the Middle East issue.

Furthermore, the Telegraph reported that Sir Keir personally lobbied Sir Lindsay to choose Labour’s amendment, having visited the day before the plead his case.

The Speaker issued an apology after a day of acrimony but continues to face calls to resign – with more than 30 MPs signing a parliamentary motion tabled by a Tory MP declaring no confidence.

Reports of a visit from Sir Keir raise questions about the degree to which the Labour leader leaned on the Speaker as the decision on votes was being considered, the newspaper reported.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt also launched a bitter attack on Sir Lindsay, claiming he had ‘hijacked’ the debate and ‘undermined the confidence’ of the House in its long-standing rules.

They could come face to face again on Thursday when she delivers a business statement in the Commons.

The row erupted when Sir Lindsay decided the Commons would first vote on Labour’s amendment before moving on to further votes on the SNP’s original motion and then a Government proposal seeking an ‘immediate humanitarian pause’.

He disregarded warnings from the House of Commons Clerk over the unprecedented nature of the move, which provoked uproar in the chamber.

After calls for him to return to the chamber to explain his move, Sir Lindsay apologised to MPs and vowed to hold talks with senior party figures.

Amid shouts of ‘resign’, he said: ‘I thought I was doing the right thing and the best thing, and I regret it, and I apologise for how it’s ended up.’

The evening’s mayhem – in scenes not seen since the Brexit battles at Westminster – raised thoughts among MPs of an effort to oust Sir Lindsay as Speaker in a plot some are dubbing ‘Just Stop Hoyle’.

An early day motion tabled by senior Tory William Wragg expressing no confidence in the Speaker has already attracted support from 33 Conservative and SNP MPs. 

One veteran Tory MP told MailOnline the situation was ‘absolutely disastrous’.

‘I think he may well be in terminal difficulty,’ they said of Sir Lindsay’s position.

‘He was warned by his clerks, who wrote to confirm the advice. He ignored the advice. It was the biggest cock-up I have ever seen since I have been an MP.’ 

The MP added: ‘The rumour is that he was threatened by the Labour Party. If he buckled to that sort of threat, he doesn’t deserve to be Speaker.’ 

Sir Lindsay said he took the decision to allow all sides to ‘express their views’ and that he was ‘very, very concerned about the security’ of MPs who have received personal threats over their stance on the Gaza conflict.

But SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said he would take significant convincing that the Speaker’s position was ‘not now intolerable’ and claimed his party had been treated with ‘complete and utter contempt’.

He also called for an investigation as he appeared to suggest Sir Keir and Labour’s chief whip had exerted pressure on Sir Lindsay, a former Labour MP, ahead of his decision to pick the party’s amendment for debate.

Labour’s amendment ended up passing unopposed without a formal vote after the Government pulled its participation. 

Had the Speaker not chosen it, Labour MPs in favour of a ceasefire could have been pushed to back the SNP motion, in a repeat of a major rebellion against the Labour leadership in November.

However, Labour frontbencher John Healey told BBC Newsnight it was ‘totally untrue that he (the Speaker) was put under pressure’.

Sir Lindsay was later absent from shambolic scenes in the Commons – prompting suggestions he had gone ‘into hiding’ – as MPs on all sides engaged in a parliamentary slanging match.

After a slew of points of order from Tory MPs and a furious SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, both the SNP and Government benches staged their walkout.

MPs then voted on whether the Commons should sit in private for the first time since 2001 as they put pressure on Sir Lindsay to return to the chamber.

The chaos inside the Commons chamber took place at the same time as a large pro-Palestinian rally was held in Parliament Square yesterday.

A tearful-looking Sir Lindsay faced shouts of ‘resign’ when he later returned to the Commons to offer an apology for having sparked last night’s meltdown.

He told MPs: ‘I thought I was doing the right thing and the best thing, and I regret it, and I apologise for how it’s ended up.

‘I do take responsibility for my actions, and that’s why I want to meet with the key players who have been involved.’

The Speaker attempted to explain that he intended to allow the House ‘the widest range of propositions on which to express a view’. 

But he angrily denied accusations he had met with Sir Keir’s chief of staff Sue Gray in a bid to stitch up the debate in Labour’s favour.

One insider said Labour had warned him their MPs would be at increased risk of attack by pro-Palestine campaigners if they could not vote for their own ceasefire motion. 

‘He was told he would have blood on his hands if he didn’t allow this vote,’ the source said. 

In his statement on Wednesday, the Speaker acknowledged he was ‘very, very concerned about the security of all MPs’.

But former Tory cabinet minister Kit Malthouse said he would have ‘crossed a Rubicon’ if he had allowed threats and intimidation from outside to influence the proceedings of the Commons. 

Sir Keir wanted to prevent his MPs from backing the SNP motion demanding an unqualified ‘immediate ceasefire’ by tabling his own amendment.

The Labour amendment caveated that Hamas terrorists must hand back hostages and lay down weapons first.

Sir Lindsay’s ploy to allow all three main parties – the Tories, Labour and SNP – to put forward their own position was undone when the Government boycotted proceedings.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt claimed Sir Lindsay had ‘hijacked’ the debate and ‘undermined the confidence’ of the House in its long-standing rules.

Ms Mordaunt also suggested the Speaker’s decision may have put MPs at greater risk, warning that he had ‘raised temperatures…on an issue where feelings are already running high’. 

She accused the Speaker of having taken action ‘against the longstanding and established processes and procedures of this House’, adding: ‘For that reason the Government will play no further part in the decision this House takes on today’s proceedings.’

That move prompted last night’s chaos in the Commons after the SNP were informed the Government’s action meant they were unlikely to get a vote on their original motion.

Mr Flynn demanded to know why Sir Lindsay was not in his chair, and asked how he could be brought to the House to explain why the SNP’s views are ‘irrelevant to him’.

After his request for the Commons to be suspended were denied by Deputy Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton – who was filling in for the absent Sir Lindsay – SNP MPs and Tory MPs then staged their walkout.

MPs later voted 212 to 20, majority 192, to reject a proposal for Commons to sit in private.

Labour’s amendment pushing for an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ in Gaza – with caveats – was then approved by the Commons without a vote.

Dame Rosie was also forced to deny suggestions that Sir Lindsay was influenced by threats from senior Labour figures to accept the party’s amendment.

Tory MP Philip Davies referred to claims that the Speaker had been ‘left in no doubt that Labour would bring him down after the general election unless he called Labour’s Gaza amendment’.

But Dame Rosie replied: ‘That tweet is wrong and the statement is incorrect.’

Labour’s defence spokesman John Healey insisted the party had put ‘no pressure on the Speaker’, and said he had been right to allow the widest possible debate on Gaza. But even some Labour MPs questioned his judgment.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Sky News: ‘I wish he hadn’t taken this decision. Confidence in him has been significantly undermined – and I speak as a friend of his.’ 

Labour has been riven by divisions over Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7. While Sir Keir has argued for Israel’s right to self-defence, dozens of his MPs have been calling for Israel to end the war. 

Tory MP Sir Michael Fabricant said Sir Lindsay’s decision had created a ‘constitutional crisis’. 

But fellow grandee Sir Charles Walker predicted that Sir Lindsay would survive, adding: ‘This furore will blow over. 

‘When the House of Commons comes to its senses it will realise very quickly that the removal of the Speaker will only lead to metaphorical champagne corks popping in Tehran.’ 

The SNP, which ended up being unable to vote on its own motion calling for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza, reacted with fury. The party’s Pete Wishart said the ruling was ‘ridiculous’, adding: ‘(Sir Lindsay) has totally lost it and this will come back to haunt him.’ 

Charities involved in efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing offensive reacted with fury to the behaviour of MPs last night.

Halima Begum, chief executive of the ActionAid UK charity, said: ‘We are extremely disappointed to see the utter paralysis in Parliament this evening.

‘Democracy is a precious commodity and should be treated as such.

‘A great disservice has been done to the British people, who expected their political parties and elected representatives to conduct a meaningful debate concerning an issue on which depends the lives of over a hundred Israeli hostages, and hundreds of thousands of Gazans suffering one of the most acute humanitarian crises we have seen in recent times.’

Oxfam’s Katy Chakrabortty said: ‘It is a disgrace that there has been so much playground politics in Parliament this evening, while so many lives are at stake.

‘The people of Gaza can’t wait for our politicians to stop squabbling. Much of the country lies in ruins and Rafah, where many Palestinian families have been forced to flee, is under threat of a full-scale military offensive.’

Dr Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, told LBC radio the Commons chaos was ‘disgraceful’ and ‘shameful’, adding: ‘Today we have seen British politics at its worst.’

‘Politicians are trying to save themselves, rather than saving an entire nation from genocide,’ he continued.

Last night’s drama came after a previous vote on a call for a Gaza ceasefire tabled by the SNP last November resulted in 10 Labour frontbenchers resigning in order to support the demand.

Sir Keir’s efforts to avoid a repeat of that revolt this evening were thrown into doubt earlier when the Government put down its own change to the latest SNP motion.

Convention suggested Sir Lindsay would only choose the Government amendment to put to a vote this afternoon.

That would have raised the prospect of Sir Keir seeing many Labour MPs join the SNP in the division lobbies even if he ordered them to abstain – as many have been vocal in urging an immediate ceasefire.

However, Sir Lindsay sparked uproar in the chamber when he confirmed he was selecting both the Labour amendment and the Government one – over the advice of his own clerks.

The SNP cried foul saying that it deprived them of a ‘clean’ vote on their own Opposition Day motion.

And one senior Conservative was heard shouting, ‘Bring back Bercow!’ – a reference to Tory complaints that former Speaker John Bercow bent procedures to help opponents of Brexit.

There were also bitter accusations that both Labour and the other parties had threatened to unseat the Speaker as they tried to get their own way.

But Sir Lindsay said there was a precedent, adding that he thought the operation of standing orders in the House was outdated. 

There were also bitter accusations that both Labour and the other parties had threatened to unseat the Speaker as they tried to get their own way. 

‘This is a highly sensitive subject on which feelings are running high, in the House, in the nation, and throughout the world. I think it is important on this occasion that the House is able to consider the widest possible range of options,’ Sir Lindsay said.

To outcry from MPs he added: ‘I have therefore decided to select the amendments both in the name of the Prime Minister and in the name of the Leader of the Opposition.’

Clerk of the House of Commons Tom Goldsmith warned Sir Lindsay in a letter that ‘long-established conventions are not being followed in this case’.

There were rumours of a meeting between Sir Lindsay and Sir Keir before the session started this afternoon.

In a round of interviews this morning, shadow cabinet member Lisa Nandy said Labour was making representations to Sir Lindsay about what amendments would be selected.

As it was an Opposition Day debate, the Government was simply able to ignore the result.

Ms Nandy stressed that there were ‘significant differences’ between Labour’s wording and the SNP’s. 

‘We are clear that any ceasefire by definition must be two-sided, that Israel can’t be expected to lay down its weapons if Hamas doesn’t observe the terms of that ceasefire,’ she said.

The Government’s text only called for an ‘immediate humanitarian pause’ followed by a ‘permanent sustainable ceasefire’. 

Sir Lindsay was last night seeking crisis talks with all the main parties in a bid to shore up his position.