Explosive claims have emerged that an MP has been acting as a go-between for Kevin Rudd with lobby group Clubs Australia.

7News revealed the dramatic events that occurred in the hours before Mr Rudd announced his intention to quit the foreign minister role.

Clubs Australia claimed an MP acting as a go-between for Mr Rudd had assured them that Mr Rudd was mobilising to regain the Prime Ministership.

The claims made in a report by Mark Riley centre on an alleged meeting with the lobby group on November 21, 2011.

If successful he would tear up the agreement with independent Andrew Wilkie on mandatory pre-commitment technology to limit betting on poker machines.

Mr Rudd strongly denied the allegations.

"Clubs Australia did meet with an MP close to Kevin Rudd in late November," Clubs spokesman Jeremy Bath is believed to have said on the record in a statement to 7News today.

"It was made clear at that meeting that Kevin Rudd was sympathetic to the concerns of clubs and that as Prime Minister he would kill mandatory pre-commitment."

"Clubs Australia was encouraged to continue the campaign and was advised that we should target a select number of MPs."

"Clubs Australia then sought confirmation of Kevin Rudd's support through a known Rudd ally, which we duly received several days later." Bath said.

Labor backbencher Alan Griffin confirmed to 7News he was the MP that met with Clubs Australia.

But he denied telling Clubs Australia he was acting for Mr Rudd.

7News said it was well-known Mr Griffin is Kevin Rudd's chief numbers man and it is believed he was organising votes ahead of Monday's showdown.

He said he did tell the clubs representatives their campaign was damaging Labor, but he believed the Caucus would force a change in the policy away from mandatory pre-commitment.

He said: "I took the meeting as a backbencher concerned about the issue. I don't believe I referred to him.. meaning Mr Rudd.. by name at any stage in our conversation."

Rudd denied any knowledge of this to 7News when asked and reportedly issued a statement to Seven News via a spokesperson

“The claims are entirely untrue.”

“The Foreign Minister has never asked any MP to speak to Clubs Australia at any time on any matter relating to poker machines.”

“The Minister would consider the publishing of such a claim as defamation, and would take action accordingly.”

Mr Rudd has continually denied any involvement in the destabilisation of Julia Gillard and says he has remained loyal to her and the party throughout.

What will Kevin Rudd do next?

Mr Rudd's first bombshell was to quit as Foreign Minister.

But what Mr Rudd will do next still has most people in parliament guessing.

Environment minister and Gillard backer, Tony Burke, told the Sydney Morning Herald Mr Rudd had been campaigning for the job for months and he was "glad" it came to a head.

He claimed Mr Rudd had been campaigning for months for months, and his bid to be prime minister again was "the worst kept secret in Canberra".

7 political reporter Alex Hart said Prime Minister Julia Gillard now had no choice but to call a spill of the leadership and force Mr Rudd into a fight.

"She had no choice," Mr Hart wrote in a blog for Yahoo!7 News.

"The fact remains she has the overwhelming support of the Labor caucus. She may have been forced on to the back foot, but she does have the numbers.

"Her supporters say Mr Rudd's move was one made in desperation. They say he had to do it because his numbers were evaporating."

Anna Bligh, who herself is fighting for a top job as premier of Queensland, said that Mr Rudd's decision would force the leadership speculation to a head.

"The country has to have this resolved, and I look forward to the federal party resolving it as quickly as they can," she told reporters in north Queensland on Wednesday.

"So frankly I am pleased it will come to a head.

"I'm pleased that hopefully we can have it resolved once and for all, put the whole thing to bed and we can get on with talking about state issues."

Earlier this week, key independent Andrew Wilkie said he was convinced Kevin Rudd would launch a challenge for the leadership.

"I must confess for a while I thought it was just media mischief right up until I had a 90-minute meeting with Kevin Rudd - Kevin clearly wants the job back," he said.

"There will be a challenge and I suspect he may well be successful, and if he is successful then I will aim to work with him to get the sort of policy outcomes I want to see."

Tony Abbott took no time to fire off his own salvo at the government, saying that Mr Rudd's actions had proved there was a need for change in Parliament.

"Kevin Rudd has confirmed two things - that the faceless men are running the Labor Party and that the instability at the top of this government is damaging our country," he said.

"Kevin Rudd's statement tonight confirms that this government is unworthy to continue in office."

One of the key independents keeping the Gillard government in power said that a change in leadership would lead to an early election.

"If the Labor Party suddenly want to change arrangements in the middle of the stream all bets are off," Mr Windsor told Sky News.

"I'm not going to place myself in the middle of some sort of Fantasy Glades game that's going on and expect to just keep endorsing people whoever the revolving door produces.

"I did a deal with the current prime minister."

Renegade Queensland MP Bob Katter refused to weigh in on the possibility of a leadership change.

"In response to inquires regarding the federal Labor leadership, please note that Bob is not one of the crossbenchers who delivered the present government, nor is he interested in the machinations of other parties," a spokeswoman for Mr Katter said.

MP gives Rudd backing

Labor MP Doug Cameron has called on Ms Gillard to give Mr Rudd public backing and urge him to reconsider his resignation, the ABC reported.

"I'm shocked and I'm extremely disappointed, and this came out of the blue and I think the tearing down of one of our finest foreign ministers by faceless men has to stop," he said.

"It's bad for the party, it's bad for the nation and it's bad for the Government."

"I am sure that he's acting in what thinks is the best interests of the party," he said.

"My advice to Julia Gillard would be to express her support and confidence in Kevin Rudd and see if we can get him back as foreign minister... but if the faceless men are pulling the strings then we won't," he said.