Nadine Dorries’ so-called No10 tell-all book shifted 2,000 fewer copies in its first week than her debut romance.

The ex-Culture Secretary sold 5,500 copies of The Plot, compared with 7,500 of 2016’s "The Angels of Lovely Lane". Dorries, 66, published the exposé, in which she describes an elaborate scheme to bring down ex-PM Boris Johnson, last week to much fanfare.

But the author – who got a six-figure deal for her writing side-gig in 2013 – faced mockery over its conspiracy theories and for dubbing one shadowy figure Dr No. One source said of the £25 hardback: “Why would anyone waste their money on her garbage?”

Dorries' book The Plot (
Image:
Getty Images)

In comparison, Tony Blair’s A Journey sold 92,060 copies and David Cameron’s For the Record 20,790 in their first weeks.