Claims of splits in May's team dismissed as 'tittle tattle'
The Defence Secretary dismisses reports the Conservatives are in disarray over their controversial plans to reform social care.
Sunday 28 May 2017 13:37, UK
Reports of splits in Theresa May's team ahead of the General Election have been dismissed by a senior Cabinet minister.
According to the Sunday Times, the Prime Minister's joint chiefs of staff - Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy - are at loggerheads over .
But Sir Michael Fallon said the claims were "Westminster tittle-tattle".
The Defence Secretary told ITV's Peston On Sunday: "No, this is Theresa May leading our party.
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"We've put into the policy now some additional reassurance because of the scaremongering of Labour after the manifesto was published, further reassurance that people will not lose their home, they will not lose all of their savings.
"But yes, some people will be asked to make a contribution to raising the quality of social care."
Mrs May has said the Conservatives will consult on a cap for care costs after the election, and insisted no one would lose their homes in the shake-up, which critics have labelled a "dementia tax".
The party's manifesto commits the party to get people to pay for their own care if they have combined savings and property valued at more than £100,000.
Payment can be deferred until after a person dies, when it will be deducted from their estate.
The changes were met with opposition when they were unveiled, leading Mrs May to later say there will be an "absolute limit" on the money people will have to pay.
But the PM denied this was a u-turn, saying she was responding to "shameful" claims that people would be forced to sell their home.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "The Prime Minister has said yes, there will be a cap ... But we are not sure where the cap will be.
"What we are saying is we will have a green paper to make sure that we set it at the right level and we consider all the other alternatives."
One MP told the paper the social care furore was "a major cock-up" and called for "retribution" against the authors of the manifesto.
"Corbyn can't win this but we could lose it and we've been giving it a bloody good go," they said.
"There might have to be a couple of people taken out and shot!"
Opinion polls have shown Labour closing the gap on the Conservatives in the wake of the controversy, and the Sunday Times reports the Tories will relaunch their campaign this week in a bid to get it back on track.
Sir Lynton Crosby, the party's strategist, has ordered a return to the party's core message, according to the newspaper - that Mrs May is the only leader who can make a success of Brexit.