Johnson and Rudd pact falls apart

Boris Johson has failed to secure the backing of the leading Remainer in the Cabinet, Amber Rudd, dealing a serious blow to his hopes of becoming prime minister.

The former foreign secretary had hoped to forge an alliance with Ms Rudd to boost his support among Tory MPS, in order to ensure he reaches the last two candidates after ballots of parliamentary Conservative Party.

However, Mr Johnson is understood to have failed to reach agreement on Brexit policy at a meeting with the Work and Pensions Secretary on Thursday. Reports suggest that the leader of the Vote Leave campaign refused to back down from his stance in favour of a nodeal Brexit.

Speculation had focused on the possibility of Ms Rudd serving as chancellor in a Johnson premiership. She is now believed to be preparing to endorse either Matt Hancock or Michael Gove.

Over the weekend Mr Johnson received endorsements from Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss, his first supporter in the Cabinet, and from Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng.

In an article ina Sunday newspaper, Mr Kwarteng wrote: “To defeat both Farage and Corbyn, the Conservatives need a leader who is an excellent communicator with energy and drive; a person who feels comfortable in a real campaign, walking the streets, talking to normal people.

“If the Conservative Party believes it can defeat these threats by an appeal merely to managerial competence, it will die.”

But the strong opposition to Mr Johnson among proEU Tories was summed up by Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan, who is backing Jeremy Hunt.

He said: “It would be perverse to think that having a dreadful reputation with our European allies should be worn as a badge of honour. We need friends and allies, not posturing confrontation.”