Chancellor Phillip Hammond has been accused of deliberately attempting to “f*ck up” Brexit by top Tory colleagues in the cabinet.
The briefing, given to The Telegraph, is the third leak in three days against Phillip Hammond, who campaigned against Brexit and is now pushing for a so-called “soft” exit from the European Union (EU).
The senior Cabinet minister said Mr. Hammond is intentionally working to “frustrate” Brexit and treating pro-Leave ministers like “a bunch of smarmy pirates who have taken him prisoner”.
The minister said: “What’s really going on is the Establishment, the Treasury, is trying to fuck it up. They want to frustrate Brexit.
“This is a crucial moment. That’s why we have to keep Theresa there. Otherwise, the whole thing will fall apart.”
Following the leaks, Prime Minister Theresa May is set to plead with her feuding ministers to stop the leaks.
While there is no formal investigation planned, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said she would use Tuesday morning’s weekly cabinet meeting to insist they stop.
“What I would say is of course cabinet must be able to hold discussions on government policy in private and the prime minister will be reminding her colleagues of that at the cabinet meeting tomorrow,” he told the Evening Standard.
“She’ll just be reminding them of their responsibilities and making the point that ministers across government need to be focused on getting on with delivering for the British public.”
The attacks have been made after the Chancellor and a number of his Cabinet colleagues had a damaging row over public sector pay.
Mr. Hammond confronted the claims on Sunday, telling the BBC’s Andrew Marr:
“Some of the noise is generated by people who are not happy with the agenda that I have, over the last few weeks, tried to advance of ensuring that we achieve a Brexit which is focused on protecting our economy, protecting our jobs and making sure that we can continue having rising living standards in the future.”