Theresa May tells bickering Tories: It's me or Jeremy Corbyn
A Tory tells Sky News the PM's unity call "won't have any effect" and the Government is merely "coping with the trauma of Brexit".
Tuesday 18 July 2017 12:26, UK
Theresa May has warned bickering Tory MPs that their behaviour could result in her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn winning power.
The Prime Minister was speaking at a summer reception for Tory MPs on Monday night, with a senior MP saying that she had told them to have a break over the summer but to return to Westminster ready for "serious business".
The source said that Mrs May told her audience that there should be "no backbiting, no carping".
Perhaps reacting to reports of ministers trying to oust her, she also warned that the "choice is me or Jeremy Corbyn", adding: "Nobody wants that."
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Her comments come after a series of leaks targeting Chancellor Philip Hammond. She is expected to remind a Cabinet meeting today that .
Mr Hammond made headlines last week after an unnamed minister accused him of trying to "f*** up" Brexit.
He is also accused of saying that "even a woman can drive a train" - something he denies - while talking about public sector pay.
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A spokesman for the PM would not discuss the leaks but told reporters: "Of course, Cabinet must be able to hold discussions of Government policy in private and the Prime Minister will be reminding her colleagues of that at the Cabinet meeting."
The row is being perceived as another example of the PM's weakness in the wake of June's election, which saw her lose her Commons majority.
Asked whether Cabinet members were seeking to undermine Mr Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd insisted ministers were "united in wanting to make sure that we deliver a Brexit that does protect the economy".
"Philip Hammond has talked about that and he is absolutely right to do so."
Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine told Sky's All Out Politics show that Mrs May's call for unity "won't have any effect" and said the Government was currently not functioning properly, merely "coping with the trauma of Brexit".
The Tory infighting somewhat overshadowed Monday's announcement of an over the next two years.
Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis, who is one of those tipped as a possible successor to Mrs May, returned to Westminster after a brief visit to Brussels for the start of the latest Brexit negotiations.
He was , after spending just a few hours with the EU's Michel Barnier and their respective teams.
A picture of Mr Davis sitting opposite Mr Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, also caused a stir - with the Brexit Secretary having no notes or papers in front of him while Mr Barnier had a thick folder of documents.