HUNT FACES NO DEAL BACKLASH Brexiteers accuse Foreign Secretary of U-turn as he warns over ‘suicidal’ exit

THE Tory leadership race descended into a toxic row last night after Jeremy Hunt warned Brexit might have to be delayed again to avoid a ‘suicidal’ No Deal departure.

The Foreign Secretary faced a backlash from Brexiteers after he claimed that trying to leave the European Union without a withdrawal agreement on October 31 would be blocked by Parliament, leading to a general election and the ‘annihilation’ of the Conservatives.

However, he said that if he is named Prime Minister he would create a new negotiating team – made up of hardline eurosceptics as well as MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – in the hope of reaching a new agreement with Brussels.

But rival camps accused Mr Hunt of a U-turn after he previously argued the country would ‘flourish and prosper’ after Brexit even without a negotiated agreement.

They claimed that the Foreign Secretary was changing tack over concerns he is haemorrhaging supfor port from party moderates to Environment Secretary Michael Gove. But allies of Mr Hunt argued he was just reflecting the political reality and being straight with MPs about what could be achieved before the October deadline.

As the contest became increasingly acrimonious:

Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock challenged their leadership rivals to sign up to a ‘clean campaign’ pledge;

Rory Stewart publicly denied claims he was acting as a ‘suicide bomber’ to take out Boris Johnson with a series of outspoken attacks;

Broadcasters attempted to bounce leadership candidates into TV debates by announcing plans head-to-head battles apparently without the party’s agreement;

Former chief whip Mark Harper and former Brexit minister James Cleverly are expected to join the race this week – taking the number of contenders to an astonishing 12;

Theresa May warned that a No Deal Brexit would not be ‘best for the UK’ as she arrived at a summit in Brussels;

Commons Speaker John Bercow said that MPs in Parliament would inevitably ‘ have their say’ on whether they wanted the country to leave without an agreement.

In a round of interviews yesterday, Mr Hunt said the Conservatives would be committing ‘political suicide’ if they tried to force a No Deal Brexit. ‘I think we have to be careful about saying we will definitely leave the EU on a fixed date – deal or no deal,’ he said.

‘The risk of that is Parliament might try to stop a No Deal Brexit, as they have done, and we would be pushed into a general election.’

He also revealed he would go back to Brussels to reopen the withdrawal agreement, but this time with representatives from the DUP and the hardline Brexit-backing European Research Group (ERG) led by Jacob Rees-Mogg.

‘One of the reasons [the EU] weren’t flexible in changing the withdrawal agreement is they weren’t confident the British Government would be able to deliver Parliament for any deal,’ he said. ‘That’s why I think what we need to do is have a new negotiating team. In that team needs to be not just the Government but the DUP, the ERG [and] I think you should have someone from Scotland and Wales so the Union side of these issues is properly thought through.’

However, leadership rival Esther McVey immediately fired back, saying: ‘Political suicide actually lies in not having a clean break from the EU and not leaving on October 31.’ And a source on another leadership campaign said: ‘It is pretty extraordinary. Jeremy

‘We need a new negotiating team’

Hunt has had more positions on Brexit than Jeremy Corbyn – he cannot make up his mind on whether he wants No Deal or to back Theresa May’s deal. He cannot be trusted to lead the Tory Party.’

Tory MP Crispin Blunt last night told The Times he had asked to be taken off a list of Mr Hunt’s supporters on the website Conservative Home. He said: ‘It’s all very well saying you would try to get a deal but you have to have a plan B. And we no longer know what Jeremy’s plan B is. He has the best personal skill to be the PM, but there’s no point in being the leader of a party with just ten MPs.’

And fellow leadership contender Mr Stewart said Mr Hunt’s reticence in taking No Deal off the table while calling it ‘political suicide’ made no sense. He added it was like ‘trying to buy a car by threatening to blow your head off with a gun – drop the price or I’ll shoot myself. That’s not a good negotiating strategy’.

The bitter row underlines the growing divide of the candidates in the race to succeed Mrs May.

Mr Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, Dominic Raab and Miss McVey have all made clear they want the UK to get out of the EU at all costs by the end of October. But International Development Secretary Mr Stewart, Health Secretary Mr Hancock and now Mr Hunt have warned against trying to force a No Deal departure. Other contenders have yet to spell out their positions, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid again dodging questions from reporters yesterday.

Mr Gove last night signalled that he would not support No Deal because any scenario which ended in a general election risked Brexit being cancelled altogether.

Kit Malthouse yesterday became the tenth to declare they will stand. The housing minister admitted he was an outsider but there was ‘a hunger for someone new’ in No 10.