Boris Johnson was gagged from backing new Royal Yacht in speech to Tory conference

Boris Johnson was gagged by Theresa May from backing a new Royal Yacht in his speech to the Tory conference, The Sun can reveal.

The Foreign Secretary wanted to publicly endorse plans to relaunch Britannia as a post-Brexit floating trade embassy.

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But the key line was removed from his speech by No10 in a behind-the-scenes slap-down.

“He was overruled by the PM, who is fighting the idea”, a Tory source said.

Last night No10 refused to comment.

Our revelation came as MPs debated a replacement for the much loved Royal Yacht that was decommissioned in 1997.

The Government last night declared they were “very keen” to see costed plans to bring back a yacht for the Queen.

But the Department for International Trade ruled out spending any taxpayers’ money on the project that was first revealed by The Sun.

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Senior Tories had suggested bringing it back to drum up post-Brexit trade around the world.

More than 100 Tory MPs are backing a new Britannia, and MPs debated the plans in a tub-thumping session in Parliament on Tuesday.

Campaigning Tory MP Jake Berry, who is leading the charge, said the new boat would be a “small piece of Britain that can move between international port and international port”.

Responding to the backbench debate, Trade Minister Mark Garnier said if a costed plan is drawn up to privately fund a new Royal Yacht, “we would all be very keen to see it”.

But he told his Tory colleagues that Britannia could not be recommissioned and that the government “has no plans — and has had no plans — to commission a new Royal Yacht".

He added that he estimates the cost of new yacht would be around £120 million.

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A government source added that the idea “is just so far down the agenda” and “at this time” there is no prospect of taxpayer cash toward it.

However dozens of Tory MPs spoke up for the project in a two-hour debate in Westminster Hall.

Former Defence Minister Mark Francois called for the running costs of the state vessel to be paid for out of the “rising” international aid budget.

Another former Defence Minister Sir Gerald Howarth said a new Royal Yacht is “very important to the dignity of our country; it is not a luxury.”

He added that the scrapping of Britannia in 1997 was “one of the darkest moments of my political life.”

Mr Howarth argued the cost would be “modest” compared to the annual £12 billion aid budget and said DfID should share the cost of the new boat “so some good can come out of the money there”.

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Fellow Tory Andrew Andrew Murrison warned that the new Britannia must be “tasteful, not a gin palace and not a Philip Green-type model”.

MP Jack Lopresti said the referendum result meant that it was the “perfect time in history” for a new Britannia as it could be “a massive signal to the world that, unshackled from the dead hand of Brussels, Britain is back, confident and proud”.

But Labour’s Barry Sheerman labelled the plans “nonsense” and angry SNP MPs spoke against the project.

Edinburgh MP Deidre Brock called the idea “a wasteful throwback to the days of the Raj”.

Tory MP James Gray intervened in her speech to angrily admonish the nationalist MP for calling Britannia “it rather than she”.

The DUP’s Ian Paisley said the new boat would be “floating advertisement for all that is wonderful about Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.

He also pledged the shipyards of Ulster could be used “if Scot Nats won’t build it”.