HAMMOND TO PHIL IN AS PM

Top Tories plot ‘oust May’ bid

PHILIP Hammond is being lined up by top Tories to replace under-fire Theresa May as Prime Minister.

They are hoping the Chancellor will team up with Brexit Secretary David Davis to oust Mrs May and keep Boris Johnson out.

Reports claim Tory rebels hope to put their plan into action before the party’s annual conference in October.

Mr Hammond, below – nicknamed “Spreadsheet Phil” because of his fascination with figures – is thought to have the backing of several ministers.

They believe he is the right man to see Britain through the tricky Brexit negotiations with EU leaders. One minister explained: “I think Philip is the only plausible candidate for a couple of years, with David Davis running Brexit.

“He is a more credible caretaker than the current Prime Minister.”

Mrs May lost her majority in this month’s election and has to rely on the Democratic Unionist Party to prop up a minority government.

This week, the PM is facing her first major challenge in Parliament as MPs prepare to vote on the Queen’s Speech. The plan to move the Chancellor into the top job will be bound to worry Brexiteers as Mr Hammond was a Remainer and is in favour of a soft Brexit.

But not everyone wants to see Mrs May overthrown.

Remainer Ken Clarke insisted: “If the sillier people in the Conservative Party now decide that the best thing to do is to start arguing about the leadership, then you just make a very difficult decision more absurd.” Cabinet minister Liam Fox called for MPs to support Mrs May. Backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg called speculation about the leadership “folderol” – which is just an old-fashioned word that means “nonsense”. When David Cameron resigned after losing the Brexit vote, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was favourite to replace him. But Mr Johnson has ruled himself out of becoming PM before 2019 and several Tories now think he has had his day. And some believe Mr Davis at 68 is too old to be leader, which leaves a clear run for Mr Hammond.