Theresa May under pressure from close advisers to sack Boris Johnson or Philip Hammond — in an attempt to end Brexit squabbles
The PM has faced a furious row within her party between the Remainers and Brexiteers over who to axe or demote
THERESA May was last night under mounting pressure to sack Boris Johnson or Philip Hammond.
Tories said it was the only way to end the party's Brexit infighting.
The PM's closest allies are rowing over whether she should axe Boris as part of a Cabinet revamp.
Some are telling her that the Foreign Secretary has to go for “disloyalty” after announcing his own Brexit red lines.
But others say any wide-ranging reshuffle risks creating enemies who will snipe from the backbenches.
After successfully seeing off a plot to oust her, Mrs May signalled she was ready to take action by vowing to “make the most of the wealth of talent available to me in the party”.
But allies of Mr Johnson said he will "just say no" if the PM tries to demote him - warning it would send her leadership crisis deeper into trouble.
Tory grandee Lord Heseltine urged her to move Boris to “reassert her authority”.
Asked where he would advise putting BoJo, the former deputy PM replied: “Mongolia.”
Backers of Boris insisted Mrs May should sack Remainer Philip Hammond instead.
MP Nadine Dorries said: “I think Philip Hammond has been deliberately trying to make the Brexit negotiations difficult, stall them, obfuscate the issues. I just don’t think he’s been 100 per cent on board.”
A close ally of Mr Johnson added: “In a Cabinet full of such dullards, to send your star striker off the field seems a pretty odd thing to even contemplate.
“Boris is a really great charismatic player. The same can’t be said of Hammond.”
One member of Team Boris told The Sun: “We would love to see her sack Hammond.
"The point is Boris is the one constantly being accused of being disloyal - but actually the one being disloyal is Philip Hammond.”
A source familiar with the PM’s thinking fuelled speculation Mr Johnson could be demoted rather than sacked.
Meanwhile, a message from Mrs May loyalist James Cleverly emerged from a private WhatsApp group of MPs, comparing leadership plotters’ behaviour to masturbation.
He wrote: “It might feel nice for the person doing it, it’s really distasteful for everyone who is forced to watch and it achieves nothing other than a bit of a mess.”
- A POLL for The Sun yesterday found more than half of all voters — and four out of five Tories — believe Mrs May should stay PM. A separate poll put Labour five points ahead.
MOST READ IN POLITICS
