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Furious Theresa May lashes out at Boris Johnson after he attacks her in speech – saying he only cares about his own job
The Prime Minister claimed her ex-colleague's Brexit plan would break up the UK
THERESA May has today lashed out at Boris Johnson - admitting she is “cross” about his attack on her Brexit plan.
The PM admitted that the ex-Foreign Secretary had put on a “good show” with his barnstorming speech at Tory conference.
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But she suggested that he doesn’t have enough substance to be leader - and blasted him for caring more about his own job than ordinary people.
Mrs May told BBC News she didn’t watch Mr Johnson’s speech, delivered at a fringe event in Birmingham to 1,500 activists, because she was busy “talking to people about the conference”.
She added: “One thing we all know about Boris is that he'll put on a good show.
“But what we've been doing here at conference, and I think what matters to people out there, is what the Government does and what we focus on in terms of their day to day lives and what really matters to them.”
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Asked if she was angry at Boris for trying to dominate the agenda at the party conference, Mrs May attacked him for putting forward a Brexit plan that could break up the UK.
The PM said: “There are one or two things that Boris said that I am cross about.
"He wanted to tear up our guarantee to the people of Northern Ireland.”
Asked if she thinks Boris could become PM, Mrs May replied: “I'm not speculating about or commenting about jobs.”
And in a furious attack, she added: “For individual members of Parliament this is not about the jobs of politicians.
“This is about the jobs of people out there in our country. It's about protecting those jobs for the future.
“What I feel most strongly about is putting the national interest first.
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“What I feel most strongly about is working to ensure that we get the best possible deal from the European Union in terms of our relationship with them in the future when we leave and that's what I am focused on.”
The PM also took a dig at Boris’ Brexit U-turn after he initially backed her Chequers proposals then quit three days later.
She said: “Of course, Boris when he was Foreign Secretary signed up to the Chequers plan and then a few days later resigned from the Cabinet.”
Boris told a hall of 1,500 activists that Mrs May should "chuck Chequers" because it amounts to "cheating" the Britain people who voted for Brexit.
He insisted he's still loyal to the PM - but to many observers the speech came across as a thinly veiled tilt at the leadership.
Allies of Mrs May tonight criticised Mr Johnson's intervention.
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Justice Secretary David Gauke said: "Boris always attracts lots of attention but now is the time for a credible and serious plan, and credible serious leadership.
"We have that from Theresa May. I think there are others who would struggle to provide that type of leadership."
Mr May will make her own conference speech tomorrow, bringing the four-day event to a close.
Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says, 'This is the moment to chuck Chequers' in fringe event speech at Tory Party Conference in Birmingham
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