Tory leadership peace talks fail after Theresa May refuses to meet Boris Johnson
Former London Mayor left in a room on his own for 40 minutes after Home Secretary snubs meeting
THERESA May has snubbed secret Tory leadership peace talks with Boris Johnson - leaving him in a room alone for 40 minutes, The Sun can reveal.
The extraordinary behind the scenes drama came on Monday, when the Home Secretary failed to turn up to the ultra hush-hush meeting in the Cabinet Office.
The attempt at a powwow between the race’s two heavyweight favourites was brokered by two senior Conservative MPs, Development Secretary Justine Greening and Tory deputy chief whip Anne Milton.
The no show left Boris frustrated, friends of the former London Mayor have said.
But Mrs May's allies hit back last night to insist she never intended to go to any meeting with BoJo in the first place.
The bitter row reveals how bad relations have already got between the two senior Tories vying for the nation's top job.
A source close to Boris said: “We turned up to hear what Theresa had to say, but she didn’t bother to come. It was all very bizarre.
“Nobody can blame us now for not trying to do the right thing for party unity.”
But allies of the Home Secretary said she wants no part in backroom deals.
A source close to Theresa told The Sun: "Theresa was adamant there would be no deal, we are in it to win it. That was made extremely clear.
"We want to do the right thing. The country is sick of people not being straight with them."
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The meeting was set for 11am, just after the first meeting of the Cabinet after last week’s dramatic referendum result broke up.
The secure Whitehall department was chosen as a location so Boris and Mrs May could both slip into it via Downing Street back doors unseen by photographers.
But after 40 minutes of waiting, a message was received from Team Theresa that any contact with Team Boris would have to be made directly.
Later on Monday, the Home Secretary dispatched one of her senior team members – Tory MP and David Cameron’s Commons aide Gavin Williamson - to relay her “no deals” message in person to Boris's campaign manager, Northern Ireland minister Ben Wallace.
Boris and Mrs May have long had a difficult relationship and are known in top Tory circles to severely dislike each other.
They have repeatedly clashed in the past over police and immigration issues, including a bitter spat when the Home Secretary refused to allow Boris to use water canons on rioters in London that he had bought.
Earlier on Sunday, Ms Greening had issued a call for Mrs May and Boris to join forces to avoided a bitterly divisive fight for the sake of party unity.
Today, the Cabinet minister added in an interview: “I want to see my good friend Boris Johnson and the respected Home Secretary Theresa May to show the leadership [necessary] and enable their two groups to unite.
“The people have had a referendum and now expect us to get on with delivering it. We should give our party the chance to avoid another set of divisions.
“Our focus should be outward, putting our country first."