War room Tories take aim... at each other

THERESA MAY’S Election guru Lynton Crosby and fellow Australian campaigner Mark Textor had a novel way of keeping spirits up at Tory HQ.

They bought a Nerf gun – a toy weapon that fires foam darts. Their chief target was a large cardboard cut-out of Jeremy Corbyn that Crosby had placed in the office. Sometimes, though, they would take aim at colleagues on the other side of the war room.

After a period of sustained attack, Rob Oxley, the Tory head of press, bought another Nerf gun so that he and his team could return fire. Staffers on desks between the two sides would have to take cover as ammunition flew overhead.