Fuming Boris Johnson threatened to SACK Rishi Sunak over fears Chancellor was plotting behind his back

RAGING Boris Johnson threatened to demote Rishi Sunak as tensions between the two spilled into the open, it was revealed.

The PM went “apoplectic” when he thought his Chancellor had been secretly manoeuvring behind his back, it was said.

Stunned officials claimed bristling BoJo launched into a sarcastic rant in which he jokingly threatened to sack him.

The angry outburst laid bare the increasingly tense relationship between the two most powerful men in government.

Mr Johnson’s frustration boiled over when he learned of a leaked letter by Mr Sunak warning travel restrictions would damage the economy.

Downing Street aides who were present said the PM went “f***ing tonto”.

He demanded: “Where’s Rishi? I need to speak to Rishi.” An insider said he told gasping officials: “I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe it’s time we looked at Rishi as the next secretary of state for health.”

An official who was present said: “Nobody really expects him to carry out that threat, of course, but the fact it was even mentioned is a huge development.”

The PM has seen his popularity rating drop 35 points to just over three per cent in a ConservativeHome survey, while the Chancellor’s stands at 74 per cent.

The two men are already at loggerheads over spending. The Chancellor thinks ministers should tighten their belts as he tries to cut the deficit. But the PM’s instincts are to spend now and pay later.

Treasury sources say Mr Sunak is in despair over big projects he has announced without costing them first.

They include a £10billion plan to reform social care and a new national flagship whose price tag has almost doubled to £250million.

The Sun on Sunday can also reveal the two clashed over the timing of the three-year spending review. The Chancellor had ordered officials to prepare forecasts for an autumn squeeze.

But insiders say the plan was blocked by the PM, who fears it will wreck his “levelling up” agenda and dent his flagging popularity.

A Treasury source said: “The Chancellor is solely focused on securing the country’s economic recovery and continuing to protect and create jobs.” 

This comes as Mr Sunak is in pole position to replace Mr Johnson as Tory boss, say party members.

Mr Sunak is riding high after his £400billion spending splurge to try to address the Covid crisis.

He won 31 per cent of the Conservative voters’ favour — with no other candidate getting more than 12 per cent.

Trade Secretary Liz Truss leads the chasing pack, with Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt third in a poll for the true-blue fansite Conservative Home.

Anti-lockdown former minister Steve Baker polled higher than established big-hitters Michael Gove and Priti Patel.

Website editor Paul Goodman said: “The Chancellor gains from being new.

"Unlike Gove, Dominic Raab and Sajid Javid, he has not fought a leadership election, and there is about him a vague but powerful sense of being the coming thing.”