Tories warn PM against freezing out Sunak

BORIS JOHNSON would be signing his political “death warrant” if he demoted Rishi Sunak, a close ally of the Chancellor has warned.

The Prime Minister was reported to have made a barbed joke about moving Mr Sunak to health secretary in a meeting last week – claims that No10 did not deny yesterday.

Mr Johnson was said to have been angered that a letter written to him by Mr Sunak calling for the easing of travel restrictions made it into the newspapers, indicating a rift.

It comes with No10 and No11 at loggerheads over public spending, with a series of major policy decisions looming in the autumn that will shape politics in the years ahead.

Yesterday Tory MPS warned off the Prime Minister from sacking his Chancellor, who took over the role after Sajid Javid resigned in February last year.

One government figure close to Mr Sunak, 41, told The Daily Telegraph of the Prime Minister: “If he demotes him he’s only signing his death warrant. There’s nobody else as good as Rishi.”

A Tory MP said: “To lose one chancellor may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.”

A recent survey of Tory members put Mr Sunak’s approval rating at 74.1 percentage points. The same survey, conducted by Conservative Home, had Mr Johnson at just 3.4 per cent.

Mr Johnson was reported to have said in a meeting last Monday: “Maybe it’s time we looked at Rishi as the next secretary of state for health. He could potentially do a very good job there.” The comment appears to have been a joking swipe rather than a genuine discussion about demotion.

Figures at No10 and No11 moved to play down any suggestion of a divide. A Treasury source said: “The Chancellor is solely focused on securing the country’s economic recovery and continuing to protect and create jobs.”