George Osborne ‘wants Theresa May chopped up in bags in his freezer’ according to staff member at Evening Standard
Ex-Chancellor accused of using new role as newspaper editor to exact revenge on PM after she sacked him from the Cabinet
GEORGE Osborne has told people he wants Theresa May "chopped up in bags in my freezer".
That is according to an explosive profile of the former Chancellor published today, which quotes a staff member at the Evening Standard.
The report in accuses the newspaper editor of using his new role to exact revenge on the Prime Minister, after she sacked him from the Cabinet last year.
He has repeatedly attacked Mrs May in the recent months – accusing her of being a “dead woman walking” after her disastrous election result.
Mr Osborne also branded her pledge to cut net migration to below 100,000 as "economically illiterate", despite backing it when he was in David Cameron’s government.
And in a leading article in the London newspaper wrote: “Like the living dead in a second-rate horror film, the premiership of Theresa May staggers on oblivious.
“This was not supposed to be in the script.”
In the profile of the 46-year-old by the magazine, Ed Caesar writes: “According to one staffer at the newspaper, Osborne has told more than one person that he will not rest until she ‘is chopped up in bags in my freezer’.”
Last night his comments sparked fury from Tory colleagues incensed by his disloyalty.
Conservative MP Nadine Dorries - who once called Mr Osborne and David Cameron “posh boys who didn’t know the price of milk” - tweeted: “A brief insight into how his mind works - and always has.”
And Nick Timothy, Sun columnist and Mrs May’s former co-chief of staff, highlighted a quote on Twitter from an ex aide which said: “He doesn’t want people to think he’s an a***ehole, because he’s not an a***hole”.
Mr Timothy added pithily: “Not sure why he worries people think he’s an a***hole”.
Theresa May sacked Mr Osborne when she took over at Number 10 last summer.
She reportedly sent him packing telling him to “learn some emotional intelligence”.
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But he went on to amass six jobs including a £650,000 a year consultancy with US firm BlackRock as well as jetting across the globe to give speeches.
And after less than a year on the backbenches he quit as an MP in March after he was appointed Evening Standard editor.
He has already developed a reputation for using the role to settle old scores, with an ally saying: “He’s got a gun now.
“One thing people in the Conservative Party will realise is ‘you mess with George Osborne at your peril.’”
However Mr Osborne claimed he wasn't trying to settle personal vendettas.
He told the magazine: "Most newspapers are very partisan. I'm sticking it to the Corbynista left and the hard-Brexit right.”
He added: "I'm paid to produce a paper that has attitude and gives voice to people whose voices are not being heard, and I don't really give a damn if some are offended by that."
And a former aide said: “He doesn't want people to think he’s an arsehole, because he's not an arsehole.”
In a parliamentary debate Labour’s Chris Bryant insisted the former Chancellor should apologise.
He blasted: “It’s that kind of language, which I think is misogynistic in its basis, which should be done away with.”
Elsewhere in the profile it claims Mr Osborne sent a memo to the newspaper's opinion writers telling them not to go "OTT" on the Grenfell Tower fire.
He rejected the idea austerity was the contribution factor to the deadly west London blaze, saying it was "sloppy journalism" to blame cost-cutting by a Tory council and government.
Mr Osborne added: "The failure was a massive failure of fire standards over many, many years, and that is a scandal we've talked about."
When asked for the prime minister’s reaction to the Esquire piece, her official spokesman said: “The contents of the former chancellor’s freezer are probably not a matter for me.”
Mr Osborne was unavailable for comment.