OUT OF THE HUNT
Jeremy Hunt can’t get top job in Boris Cabinet after aggressive leadership campaign, Jacob Rees-Mogg warns
JEREMY Hunt may have wrecked his chance of a top Cabinet job with his personal attacks on Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg warned today.
The senior Boris backer suggested the Foreign Secretary had ruled himself out of staying on in a senior role.
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And he said the only way Mr Hunt can guarantee himself a leading job is if he wins nearly half the vote in the leadership election.
Mr Johnson is odds-on favourite to become the new Prime Minister next week with Mr Hunt struggling to stay in the race.
BoJo has refused to commit to offering his rival a senior Cabinet role.
And Mr Hunt has launched a series of increasingly vicious attacks on the frontrunners, accusing him of being unreliable and mocking his love life.
Mr Rees-Mogg, who is an active campaigner for Mr Johnson, told Conservative Home: "Jeremy has been more personal in his attacks on Boris than I would have advised him to be.
"I think that that's been a pity and if you look back at the race between David Davis and David Cameron, that was carried out in a much more friendly atmosphere.
"And I think that does make it harder for him to serve in the way that he might otherwise have done."
The top Brexiteer added: "My view at the beginning of the campaign was that the runner-up would inevitably hold a great office of state.
"If Jeremy gets 45 per cent of the vote, he will clearly deserve high office. But if he doesn't, and if his share is significantly lower than that, then there isn't that support and that's a different question.
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"Then you do look at how the debate was conducted. It was unfortunate that he has said some things about Boris that are unkindly."
In last night's Sun debate, Mr Hunt offered Mr Johnson a string of senior roles including Chancellor and Work and Pensions Secretary.
Boris declined to offer his opponent a job in return despite praising his record.
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Hunt v Boris The Final Showdown: Highlights from The Sun's live debate
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