Cabinet row as Javid asks for an extra £2bn to fund no-deal plans

Home Secretary clashes with Chancellor as Leadsom launches leadership bid with ‘red line’ pledge to leave the EU by October 31

SAJID JAVID clashed with Philip Hammond during a fractious Cabinet meeting as he demanded an extra £2billion in no-deal funding for the Border Force.

The Home Secretary and Tory leadership candidate accused the Treasury of failing to deliver the money promised for extra Border Force officials needed to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, suggested that the Government was “sleepwalking” and “drifting” on no-deal preparations as he also criticised Mr Hammond.

However, there were claims that the demands in Cabinet were “political positioning” by Mr Javid for the Tory leadership contest.

A four-paragraph letter from Mr Javid detailing his demands did not arrive in the Treasury until 12.30, shortly after Cabinet finished.

The Treasury has allocated £500 million to the Home Office out of the £2billion worth of spending for Brexit preparations. Whitehall sources questioned how it had run out so quickly.

However, allies of Mr Javid said Mr Hammond was not neutral on the issue, as he is widely expected to back Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, as prime minister.

Theresa May issued a warning to those vying to succeed her that there are more opponents of a no-deal Brexit in Parliament than hard Brexiteers who would be willing to back it.

Highlighting opposition from both Remainers and Eurosceptics to her own deal, she said: “My successor is going to have the same problem.”

Julian Smith, the Chief Whip, said that Parliament will do everything it can to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Amber Rudd, the Work and Pensions Secretary who supports Jeremy Hunt, said spending money on preparing for a no-deal would mean there was less money for tackling child poverty, improving education and building houses.

Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary and Tory leadership candidate, warned that the “nuclear option” of proroguing Parliament in a bid to force through a no-deal Brexit was illegal.

Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary and a rival leadership candidate, has refused to rule out bringing the parliamentary session to an early close to stop MPS from blocking no-deal.

Mr Stewart asked Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, for his legal opinion on prorogation. Mr Cox replied that while it was “improper” and “unconstitutional”, proroguing Parliament is not illegal. The Commons Library also cast doubt on whether MPS could stop Parliament from being prorogued: “Prorogation being a prerogative power, there is no obvious legal mechanism by which Parliament could prevent its exercise otherwise than by passing legislation to constrain it.”

One source told The Daily Telegraph that Boris Johnson, the favourite for the Tory leadership, had been discussed in the margins of Cabinet.

One minister opposed to Mr Johnson was said to have asked how he could be exposed if he lied during the leadership campaign.

John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, has warned that he will not allow MPS to be sidelined. He said: “Parliament will not be evacuated from the centrestage of the decision making process on this important matter.”

Andrea Leadsom, the former Leader of the Commons, said that Mr Bercow could not stop a no-deal Brexit.

She said: “The Speaker does not have

‘Over the past three years, politics has failed dismally ... [Brexit] cannot and will not be put off any longer’

executive powers. These are reserved for the Government. Parliament can express opinions and amend or reject legislation, but it’s simply not the case that the Speaker has the means to stop a no-deal Brexit.

“The law says that we are leaving at the end of October, and it’s very difficult to see, with the Government determined to leave at the end of October, how you could prevent that from happening.”

Speaking at the official launch of her campaign, Mrs Leadsom said: “Over the past three years, politics has failed dismally – it has failed to deliver on the biggest democratic decision in our history.

“Fulfilling that democratic decision is urgent and vital, it cannot and will not be put off any longer. Leaving the EU on Oct 31 is for me a hard, red line.”

Mrs Leadsom also said she would focus on “bringing the country back together and healing divisions” and listed her priorities as building new homes, cutting crime and promoting business.

She also promised to help the UK transform into a carbon neutral economy and said she would prioritise funding for schools and policing.

In reference to her quitting the leadership race in 2016 when she was against Mrs May in the final two, she said: “Of all candidates, I am the one who will not be withdrawing under any circumstances.”