Top Tory donor pulls the plug blaming David Cameron for his handling of EU referendum
But Edi Truell has said he would financially back the party with Boris Johnson or Michael Gove at the helm
A MAJOR Tory donor has pulled the plug on David Cameron blaming his handling of the EU referendum.
In a double blow for the PM, Edi Truell said he was "not prepared to support the current regime" but would throw his financial weight behind a party led by either Boris Johnson or Michael Gove - "the genuine Conservative Party".
The move exposes the widening cracks in the party, with many Conservatives questioning whether Mr Cameron will be able to stay on as leader when the bruising campaign comes to an end.
Mr Truell, a Leave supporter, has donated more than £270,000 to the Tories since 2010 but has written to Conservative chairman Lord Feldman to say he would no longer give the party money, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Warning other donors were also reconsidering their backing, he told the newspaper: "I'm not prepared to support the current regime given the way they have been going about things."
But he praised the Tory leaders of the Leave campaign: "I think Boris, Michael Gove and team have done a sterling job, a brave job, and I would be only too pleased to support them and, in my view, the genuine Conservative Party in the future."
The pensions expert said the Prime Minister's warning about the damage a Brexit vote could do to retirement savings was the final straw in a pattern of "unfair" and "irresponsible" claims.
He said he was "staggered" by the claims about the financial risks of Brexit made by Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne, claiming the numbers were "fantasy".
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Mr Truell warned that the real risk to pensions came from remaining in the EU because of legislation being drawn up in Brussels.
"The much greater risk is remaining within the EU - they've got explicit plans to destroy British pensions," he said.
"All the final-salary funds will go bankrupt, and their companies will go bankrupt supporting them. That's about 8,000 pension funds in the private sector."
Mr Truell has frequently given advice to Mr Cameron, was trustee of the Tory party pension fund and is a member of the exclusive leader's group open to those who donate over £50,000.