A SOUTHAMPTON MP has indicated she is willing to lose the Tory whip by voting against the Government over Brexit.

Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, told a national news organisation: "My constituents mean a whole lot more to me than keeping the Conservative whip."

The news comes as key Tory rebel Dominic Grieve accused Boris Johnson of jeopardising the Tory party's survival by threatening MPs with expulsion if they dissent over Brexit.

The former attorney general said he would not bow down to the Prime Minister's threats of withdrawing the whip from Conservative MPs who vote for legislation blocking a no-deal.

On the day Parliament returned from its summer recess for a showdown with Mr Johnson, Mr Grieve accused the leader of "a new ruthlessness" over the plan.

He told the BBC that the Tories would see votes "haemorrhaging away" in a general election, which could be called on October 14 if Mr Johnson loses this week's votes.

And he denied it was the rebels who could bring down the Johnson administration, as he accused the PM of creating a threat to the Tory party.

"In a sense, the Prime Minister is bringing down his own Government. Because if he removes the whip from Conservative MPs who vote for this motion today and for the bill, he's in a sense cutting his own nose to spite his face," Mr Grieve said.

"This is undoubtedly a new ruthlessness on the part of the Prime Minister and I think for a broad church party like the Conservatives I think it bodes ill for us," he said.

"I simply do not see the Conservative Party surviving in its current form if we continue behaving like this towards each other. This is now becoming a heavily ideological party being led in a way I don't identify as being conservative at all."

The Tory backbencher said that the deselection threats make "no difference" to his decision to vote for motions hoping to block any exit from the EU without a deal.

"I see myself as a Conservative, I'm not about to go off and join another party, but if ultimately the Prime Minister and leader of my party is doing something which I think is so fundamentally wrong then I can't continue supporting it," he said.

Like other rebels, Mr Grieve said he has had "absolutely no contact whatsoever" from the leader's office to convince him to vote with the Government.