Sir Keir Starmer earlier this week declared his intention to hold a no-confidence vote after Tory MPs failed to remove Johnson while the Conservative leadership contest takes place.
Ministers left Labor furious last night after refusing to give parliamentary time to carry out the vote.
However, in a surprise move today, Mr Johnson stated that he was casting his own vote of confidence.
A government spokeswoman said: “Labour was given the opportunity to table a clear vote of no confidence in the government in accordance with the convention, but they chose not to.
“To remedy this, we are submitting a motion that gives the House the opportunity to decide whether it has confidence in the government.
“The government will always take time for appropriate parliamentary business while ensuring that it does parliamentary business to help improve people’s daily lives.”
More to follow…