THE KAMIKAZE CABINET REBELS
‘Fireworks’ at No10 as key Brexit meeting boils over
A FURIOUS Andrea Leadsom tore into Cabinet rebels during an explosive meeting yesterday.
Senior ministers exchanged furious barbs after Theresa May revealed she had bowed to pressure for a vote on delaying Brexit if she cannot get her plan through by mid-March.
Mrs Leadsom, Leader of the Commons and an arch-Brexiteer, said she was dismayed by the ‘ disgraceful’ decision of fellow ministers to go public with their concerns about No Deal. Treasury chief secretary Liz Truss was equally forthright, describing the decision to demand a delay as a ‘Kamikaze’ move.
In Saturday’s Mail, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Business Secretary Greg Clark said they would defy the Prime Minister unless she agreed to a potential vote on extending Article 50.
Several other ministers joined Mrs Leadsom’s assault.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said speaking out against No Deal had ‘totally undermined the PM’s negotiating position in Brussels and her ability to deliver her deal successfully’.
‘Extending Article 50 will hurt our prospects of getting the EU to move on the backstop,’ he added.
The meeting began at 9.30am as normal, with Mrs May outlining what she would say in her statement to the House – including the promise of a vote on delaying Brexit if her deal doesn’t pass on March 12. Attorreact. ney General Geoffrey Cox and Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay updated ministers on progress in Brussels.
Then, said one source, ‘the real fireworks began’.
Mrs Leadsom, who was first to speak, did not hold back. She said the rebels had breached collective responsibility – the rule that ministers must stick to government policy or resign their posts.
Their ‘appalling behaviour’ was, she suggested, a betrayal and they were playing into the EU’s hands because Brussels now thinks ‘we are not going to leave without a deal’.
The Government had lost credibility with Tory backbenchers and ‘if we carry on like this we will damage the party’, she fumed. Sitting just inches away, Claire Perry was the first to The energy minister had written – together with two other ministers – an article in the Mail yesterday also demanding a delay to ensure Britain was not ‘swept over the precipice’ of No Deal.
She leaned back in her chair and muttered, ‘ Oh, for God’s sake, Andrea!’
When it was her turn to speak, Mrs Perry hit back, saying it was the fault of Brexiteer backbenchers that the Government was ‘in this mess’ because they had refused to vote for Mrs May’s plan.
She added that ‘ so- called Remainers’ were the most active in defending the Prime Minister in public while Brexiteers had sat on their hands. Sources said Miss Rudd, Mr Gauke and Mr Clarke ‘stood their ground’.
Chancellor Philip Hammond and Miss Rudd urged Mrs May to use any delay to explore options for a softer Brexit if her deal is defeated again.
A source said: ‘They were both very clear that any extra time needs to be used to find a new compromise that can get through Parliament.’
Mr Hammond leapt to the defence of ministers who had spoken out, saying he ‘regretted the use of the word disloyalty’.
Julian Smith, the Chief Whip, said he understood the concerns of the anti-No Deal ministers but argued they should not have gone public.
Other angry ministers included Communities Secretary James Brokenshire, Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright and education supremo Damian Hinds.
There was also a warning to Mrs May – from Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns – that any extension to Article 50 could last for far longer than intended. He pointed to the example of the Northern Ireland Assembly, saying: ‘Stormont was only supposed to suspended for a month.’
At the end of the meeting, Mrs May stressed the importance of ministers speaking with ‘one voice’.
And in an attempt to focus minds, she set out the twin purpose of her Government – to deliver Brexit and to stop Jeremy Corbyn from gaining power.
After a brief banging of the tables, the meeting broke up shortly after 12.15pm.
... Remainers who came under fire