‘Narked’ Davidson says she stands firmly by May

Scottish Tory leader says British PM has ‘grit, determination and dignity’

Theresa May has been told she must hold Boris Johnson to his expressions of loyalty amid speculation about the foreign secretary’s position.

The Prime Minister vowed she would not “hide from a challenge” amid reports she could have a Cabinet reshuffle in an attempt to repair the damage to her authority.

Mrs May, who appears to have seen off an immediate attempt to oust her after her mishap-hit conference speech, is still vulnerable and has come under pressure to bring new faces into her top team in an effort to revitalise her administration.

Allies dismissed suggestions Mrs May would be gone by Christmas and Mr Johnson used a newspaper article to appeal for party unity – but acknowledged there had been a moment while MPS “sniffed the air” before rallying round the embattled PM.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said being a politician should “never be about private ambition”.

Ms Davidson told BBC1’S Andrew Marr Show the foreign secretary had backed the Prime Minister’s Florence speech on Brexit and Mrs May should “hold him to that”.

“He is a big intellect, a big figure in the party and if the Prime Minister believes he is the right person to be foreign secretary then she has my full support,” she said.

Ms Davidson said she would back Mrs May to lead the party into the next election, telling ITV’S Peston on Sunday: “I think she’s the best Prime Minister that we’ve got and she has my full support.

“I’m actually getting a bit narked and I’m sure there’s quite a lot of women out there that are (getting) a bit narked at how many male commentators are talking about male Cabinet ministers deciding what she should or shouldn’t do as if she has no agency in this herself.

“Goddammit she’s the Prime Minister of a G7 country, she didn’t get there by luck or by default.

“She has got grit, determination, dignity, she believes in service and diligence and she absolutely has my support.”

Mrs May has repeatedly faced questions about whether Mr Johnson – a potential leadership rival – is “unsackable” due to her weakened position after the gamble of a general election backfired, depriving her of a Commons majority.

However, asked what she might do with the foreign secretary, Mrs May told the Sunday Times: “It has never been my style to hide from a challenge and I’m not going to start now.

“I’m the PM and part of my job is to make sure I always have the best people in my Cabinet, to make the most of the wealth of talent available to me in the party.”

The Prime Minister admitted her conference speech was an “uncomfortable” time but never considered abandoning the address as “I am not someone who gives up”.

An attempted coup led by former party chairman Grant Shapps has fizzled out but the Sunday Times claimed four Cabinet ministers had discussed the need to replace the Prime Minister.

One told the newspaper “it feels to me that this is over before Christmas”.

However, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said Mrs May would “absolutely” still be in place at Christmas and dismissed the scale of the opposition.