Reports claim a letter is circulating among Labour MPs that urges Mr Tony Blair to resign as prime minister.
According to the Guardiannewspaper, a private letter has been drafted from a majority of the 38 Labour MPs elected for the first time in 2001. It was co-ordinated by two former Blair loyalists, Sion Simon and Chris Bryant, the report said.
The contents of the letter have not been disclosed and it is not clear whether it has been sent yet, but it is understood to have been organised at the weekend in the wake of Mr Blair's refusal to set an exit date at the Labour conference this month.
The latest development comes as the Prime Minister returns to one of his favourite themes today with a keynote speech in York on social exclusion.
Mr Blair sparked controversy last week when he said that problem teenagers could be identified before they were born, and that action had to be taken "pre-birth" if necessary.
His proposals have already been denounced as "eugenics" and "a gimmick" by former Labour Cabinet minister Tony Benn.
As Mr Blair began a two-day tour of England yesterday, he defied critics who want him to name a date for stepping down, with No 10 outlining a packed agenda on domestic policy, Northern Ireland and the Middle East.
PA