Daily Record

THE SNARLING DUDS OF MAY

Tory leadership losers BoJo and Gove plot to force PM into ditching soft Brexit over £30bn divorce dosh

- TORCUIL CRICHTON Westminste­r Editor

MICHAEL Gove and Boris Johnson have been accused of trying to force Theresa May into storming out of Brexit talks.

The hardline Leavers, who were bitter rivals as they lost out in the Tory leadership election last year, are said to be plotting to undermine a soft Brexit being planned by Chancellor Philip Hammond.

Gove, the Environmen­t Secretary, and Foreign Secretary Johnson are using the row over Britain’s divorce payment to the EU to bring Brexit talks “crashing to a halt” according to Tory insiders.

The plan would be to frustrate the EU into stalling talks and make the UK side walk out rather than lose face in order to engineer a “hard Brexit” with no transition­al deal.

Johnson caused outrage last week by saying the EU could “go whistle” for the divorce money it is seeking.

The other 27 countries are already running out of patience over Britain’s reluctance to fix a cash settlement, reported to be between £30billion and £60billion, to cover long-term EU commitment­s.

Chancellor Philip Hammond is arguing for a transition­al deal lasting two years or more to protect jobs and the economy.

He has been hammered in a series of damaging cabinet leaks being attributed to Leave-supporting Ministers.

Yesterday May was given the green light by Tory backbenche­rs to sack cabinet Brexiteers as the smear campaign continued with reports of ministers being branded “donkeys” by colleagues.

With rival members of the government knifing each other in vicious anonymous briefings, Tory MPs told the PM she will get their backing if she sacks disloyal ministers.

Nigel Evans, deputy secretary of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenche­rs, spoke out after a weekend of intense briefing against Hammond.

He said: “The vast majority of backbenche­rs are supporting the Prime Minister and, indeed, I’ve got to say it’s rare. Normally the men in grey suits as they’re called go up to the Prime Minister and tell them when it’s time to go and make way for somebody else.

“This time we’ve gone up to the Prime Minister and said to her, we are supporting you 100 per cent.

“We want you to use the message from the 1922 committee to tell your Cabinet, which she’s clearly done today, to get in line.”

May gave the cabinet a ticking off for leaks to newspapers alleging that Hammond had said public sector workers were “overpaid” and that train driving jobs were so easy “even a woman” could do them.

Moody’s, the credit ratings agency, yesterday issued a warning that, under a “no deal” scenario, Brexit Britain could go into a recession.

 ??  ?? COLLISION COURSE PM May and Johnson
COLLISION COURSE PM May and Johnson

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