UK election 2017: Five Cabinet ministers urge Boris Johnson to move on Theresa May

Five other members of the cabinet have pledged loyalty to Boris Johnson as the Tories descended into a new civil war.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the campaign trail last week. Picture: Getty Images

Boris Johnson has been pressed by five other members of the cabinet to oust Theresa May as prime minister as the Tory party descended into a new civil war.

The foreign secretary was contacted by the ministers on Friday morning as the scale of the general election debacle was unfolding and told they would support him if he moved against May.

“A handful of senior people have pledged their loyalty to Boris at cabinet level,” an ally said.

“He has been inundated with messages of support. We are facing a populist and they have realised we need someone who can talk to the people. We need a Brexiteer. Boris is the only option with the liberal values, Brexit credentials and popular appeal.”

With rivals circling, the prime minister was warned she had three days to save her premiership as senior ministers issued ultimatums in exchange for their support. Philip Hammond, the chancellor, signalled that his backing for May was conditional on her moderating her Brexit stance.

The chancellor used a telephone conversation on Friday to tell the prime minister she should put jobs first in her Brexit negotiations - a coded attack on May’s pledge to put controls on immigration at the top of her list.

A source close to Hammond said: “Philip is very keen that these negotiations start on the right foot and that we will put British businesses and jobs first. We can’t lose sight of the fact that the economy is the most important thing for people’s lives.”

The prime minister’s authority was in freefall last night as her two closest aides - joint chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill - resigned after several cabinet ministers demanded their heads as a “red line” for standing by her.

They were replaced by Gavin Barwell, a former housing minister who lost his seat last week.

A YouGov poll for The Sunday Times revealed that voters, by a margin of 48 per cent to 38 per cent, believe the prime minister should resign. For the first time Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has drawn level with May on the question of who would be the best prime minister.

Johnson decided on Friday that challenging May would destabilise the government and risk catapulting Corbyn into Downing Street.

But at least three backbench MPs who want the foreign secretary to take over are contemplating a “kamikaze” attack, forcing a vote of no confidence in May and running as stalking horses against her to pave the way for Johnson to join the contest without being seen as the aggressor.

In a further blow to the prime minister, one of Johnson’s close confidants, the economist Gerard Lyons, attacked her. “I thought the campaign was appalling,” he said. “It reminded me of Project Fear all over again. You’ve got to take parliament and the country with you more than she did. She failed to paint a positive vision.”

May was last night secured a “confidence and supply” deal with the Democratic Unionist Party, enabling her to pass a Queen’s speech and begin Brexit talks. But MPs said her future depended on her performance in front of the backbench 1922 committee on Tuesday.

They warned that if May did not show “real contrition” and make clear she would “behave differently”, she would face a coup. Forty-eight MPs would be needed to trigger a confidence vote. A cabinet minister warned that her position was “extremely precarious” and that a failure to perform well would see her authority destroyed like Ted Heath’s after the loss of his majority in February 1974.

“Theresa needs to beware because with Heath there was far more anger on the Sunday than there was on the Friday, and by Monday people were throwing

things at his windows,” the minister said.

If there is a contest, Johnson is expected to go head to head with David Davis, the Brexit secretary, this summer. The cabinet wants to keep May in place until then to avoid an early election. But some want her to stay until autumn 2018, by which time changes to constituency boundaries, favouring the Tories, will have gone through.

The former justice secretary Michael Gove has emerged as a kingmaker, along with Amber Rudd, the home secretary, and Ruth Davidson, the Tory leader in Scotland. Rudd has been ruled out as leader because her slender majority of 346 makes her vulnerable. Gove has told friends that if there were a leadership election, there would have to be a contest, not a coronation. Despite knifing Johnson when he ran last year, Gove’s view is that the foreign secretary can prove himself worthy in a contest, but lacks the support to get the job on a plate.

Leading Eurosceptics are trying to shore up May’s position. Steve Baker, the leader of backbench Eurosceptics, urged MPs to support May to stop a Labour takeover. “There is a special circle of hell for Conservative politicians using current events to advance themselves,” he said. “We need a laser-like focus; if we make a mistake that leads to Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell getting their hands on power, this country will turn into Venezuela.”

May is expected to try to kickstart Brexit talks this week to show she has a grip on power and is pressing on with the most important task the UK faces.

Ministers are pressing her to appoint a deputy prime minister or first secretary of state to cement the cabinet’s influence over policy.

The Sunday Times