Heseltine ‘should lose whip’

THERESA MAY is under pressure from her MPS and peers to remove the Conservative whip from Lord Heseltine for suggesting a Jeremy Corbyn government might be preferable to Brexit.

Lord Tebbit, the former minister, questioned his ex-colleague’s loyalty and said he should be banned from sitting on the Tory benches in the Lords.

The former deputy prime minister said yesterday it was a “terrible dilemma” whether to vote Labour to stop Brexit, adding that: “There are people in the Conservative Party who are seriously wondering which way to vote.”

He suggested earlier this week that a Corbyn government would be less “damaging” than Brexit because Labour could only cause “short-term” damage whereas Brexit would be “a long-term disaster”.

The peer has been a constant critic of Brexit, and was sacked as a government adviser in March after leading a Lords rebellion calling for a “meaningful vote” on the final Brexit deal.

Lord Tebbit, the former Conservative Party chairman, said: “I think it is unprecedented for a man in receipt of the Conservative whip to suggest that a Corbyn government would be preferable to a British government governing the UK, given that the alternative he is advocating is Brussels. It must call into question whether his loyalty is to the

UK or a foreign power.” Their feud dates back to 1990, when Lord Heseltine challenged Margaret Thatcher as party leader. Lord Tebbit helped run her campaign. Both were seen as likely successors, but when she resigned, Lord Tebbit supported John Major, who beat Heseltine in the final ballot.

Lord Tebbit once described Lord Heseltine as a “serial assassin” after he undermined the leaderships of Iain Duncan Smith and William Hague.

The Bow Group, a think tank whose patrons include Lord Lamont and John Redwood MP, called for Lord Heseltine to have his whip withdrawn. Ben Harris-quinney, its chairman, said: “The Brexit negotiations cannot be led by a Conservative Government that allows outright sabotage to go unaddressed.”

Yesterday, Lord Heseltine told Sky News: “The people who seem the most intolerant of debate are the very same people who have used the freedom of debate to argue the Brexit case.”