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HAMMER TIME
Tory ‘hit squad’ line up Philip Hammond and David Lidington to tell Theresa May to go
A HIT squad of Cabinet veterans is being lined up to tell Theresa May it is time to go.
Tory big guns want Chancellor Philip Hammond and the PM’s deputy David Lidington to deliver their political death warrant to 10 Downing Street.
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The pair have been asked to carry out the cruel deed because most other ministers want to step into her shoes.
But they may be beaten to the famous black door by a delegation of six backbench MPs who also want to tell the PM her time is up.
A Cabinet source said: “Her position is fading fast. It’s pitiful to watch.
“Somehow she just doesn’t seem to get the message that it’s all over.
“So we’ve decided that somebody will have to tell her it’s in everyone’s best interests for her to step down.”
Embattled Mrs May faces the most perilous week for all as she tries to get her deal through the Commons and stop MPs hijacking the process.
Tearful government whips told her a
It’s pitiful to watch. Somehow she just doesn’t seem to get the message that it’s all over.
Cabinet source
few days ago that the only way to get it over the line was to promise she would go afterwards.
A source revealed: “They weren’t the first people to give her advice to find it had fallen on deaf ears.”
Up to eight Cabinet ministers are among those jostling to launch a leadership campaign the moment Mrs May decides to go.
'I know most of you are after my job'
But none is prepared to confront her because they fear that whoever wields the knife never wears the crown.
In a tense Cabinet meeting last week, Mrs May eyeballed stunned colleagues and bluntly told them: “I know most of you are after my job.”
They have now decided that Mr Hammond and Mr Lidington – who are not eyeing the big prize – are key to easing her out.
MPs are powerless to remove the PM after last December’s failed no-confidence vote guaranteed her safety for a full year.
Cabinet ministers believe it could now fall for them to tell her to go if she fails to get her deal through this week.
They fear the Tory party will be torn apart if they are forced to delay Brexit – scheduled to happen for 11pm on Friday – and take part in EU elections at a cost of £108 million.
One source said: “We don’t have much time to waste if we are to find a new leader in time to take us out of the EU by May and have some credibility to chart a way forward.”
A minister said: “The sooner she leaves, the more chance she has of going with her dignity intact.
“If she goes now, she can save Brexit, save her party and save face.”
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Downing Street responded last night: “This is not about the future of the PM. It’s about the future of the country.
“She wants MPs to back the deal not because they want her to quit but because it’s the right thing to do in the national interest.”
Insiders say the crown will go to a candidate who can unite the party with a credible Brexit position and has what it takes to beat Jeremy Corbyn.
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