Tory chiefs plead with Theresa May and Nicky Morgan to end their leather trouser feud
PM's staff and the EU-loving minister at loggerheads after Theresa May wore flashy leather trousers for photo shoot
TORY grandees pleaded with Theresa May and Nicky Morgan to end their astonishing public feud over the PM’s brown leather trousers.
The bitter spat exploded after bitchy text messages between Mrs May’s chief of staff and the sacked former Education Secretary emerged yesterday.
The Tory leader banned Ms Morgan from No10 after she mocked the Premier for wearing the flashy trousers – which cost £955 - for a magazine photo shoot.
Calling for an end to the embarassing spat, ex-Cabinet veteran Ken Clarke told BBC1’s Sunday Politics: “Nicky and Theresa, I hope, will have some serious political discussions.
“If they want to have an argument about what they are wearing I think all their closest friends would advise them to keep that private.”
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The plea came as Nicky Morgan admitted she has become “a thorn in her party leader’s side” on Brexit, but pledged to continue doing it.
The Tory MP for Loughborough said: “It is such a massive issue that if you don’t stand up for what you believe in I’m not sure what the point is of going into politics”.
But Ms Morgan – who made a party leadership bid herself in July – face heavy criticism from her own constituency party yesterday.
Loughborough Tories’ deputy chairman Adam Stares said he had “no idea what she is playing at”, adding: “There’s a lot of people who think she is taking side-swipes at the Government and at Theresa May”.
The PM’s joint chief of staff Fiona Hill exchanged furious texts with Ms Morgan after she said of Mrs May’s leather trousers that she “never spent that much on anything apart from my wedding dress”.
But a picture of her emerged with a £950 Mulberry leather bag. A source said it was a gift from a decade ago.
The former Cabinet minister – sacked by Mrs May as soon as she took power was told she was no longer welcome to join a group of pro-EU Tory MPs at a meeting with the PM in Downing Street this Wednesday.
Downing Street refused to discuss the spat last night.