Today's Telegraph and Mail attempt to identify members of the "Notting Hill set" of the Conservative Party, accused of plotting against the parliamentary old guard.

Michael Howard's political secretary,  Rachel Whetstone, is said to be a "key member".

"Rachel is clever and opinionated and, just as importantly, her proximity to Michael Howard means our views get put across where it counts," says one close friend.

"Socially she's good, too, which is a marked contrast to the various people who surrounded Iain Duncan Smith."

Others mentioned include the Witney MP David Cameron and Tatton's George Osborne.

Meanwhile, speculation over Howard's  leadership of the Conservatives continued yesterday.

John Stafford, chairman of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, said Howard could face a formal leadership challenge at the Tory conference in October.

Howard has dismissed an offer of a truce from the UK Independence Party that would allow up to 20 Tory MPs with vulnerable majorities to stand unopposed if they backed withdrawal from the EU.