Hunt’s swipe at his rival Boris: Unlike him, I’ve got a job to do

JEREMY Hunt took aim at Tories jostling for the party leadership by warning the ‘ total focus’ of ministers should be on Brexit.

The Foreign Secretary, himself seen as one of the favourites to replace Theresa May, urged the party not to become ‘ side- tracked’. And when asked if his pro-Remain stance before the EU referendum made him more likely to triumph in a leadership race, Mr Hunt responded with a swipe at his predecessor as Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Well look, there is one very big difference between Boris Johnson and me and that is that I am Foreign Secretary and have a big job to do to try to get this deal over the line, that has to be my focus. I think what matters is we have a Cabinet that believes in Brexit ... whatever we voted in the referendum because we are all democrats.’

‘This is the total focus of not just Theresa May, but the whole Cabinet as well. It is time to put our shoulders into it and really make this happen.’

Speaking while on a visit to Japan, he warned Britain’s reputation would be damaged around the world unless a way was found through the Brexit deadlock.

‘People’s view is that this is an important country, and of course we can plough our own furrow and make it a success postBrexit. But they are worried that we will become submerged in the mire of Brexit indecision. That could be very damaging.’