The latest instalment in the Worst Coup Attempt Ever just dropped

David Frost, Simon Clarke and Will Dry are the most clueless plotters since Mark Thatcher – Maggie’s son – got himself arrested for trying to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea, writes John Rentoul

I have seen some hopeless attempts to dislodge prime ministers in my time, but Simon Clarke and co take the cake, writes John Rentoul (Getty/PA/Alamy)

Mercenaries organised by Mark Thatcher, the former prime minister’s son, were arrested in Zimbabwe in 2004 before they could fly to Equatorial Guinea to try to oust President Mbasogo. The hopeless coup attempt was satirised in a comedy TV drama, but TV production companies are unlikely to be queueing up to buy the rights to the story of David Frost, Simon Clarke, Will Dry and their anonymous financier(s).

So far, their plot has consisted of publishing an opinion poll suggesting that the Conservatives might lose the election later this year; articles in The Daily Telegraph by Frost and Clarke saying that Rishi Sunak must go; and now a statement from Dry, who left his job as a special adviser in No 10 in November, saying the same thing.

The net result has been a chorus of abuse from Conservative MPs, reinforcing Sunak’s position but further undermining any hope the party might have of appearing united.