Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses Philip Hammond of ‘undermining the Prime Minister’
2 min read
Jacob Rees-Mogg has hit out at Philip Hammond, accusing him of "undermining" Theresa May with recent comments on Brexit.
The influential Conservative backbencher hit out at the Chancellor for calling for “modest changes” to the UK’s relationship with the EU after Brexit.
Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Reform Group of Tory MPs, suggested Mr Hammond had been "freelancing" with his comments in Davos yesterday.
Mr Hammond was swiftly rebuked by Downing Street, who said their policy remained leaving the single market and customs union.
However, Mr Rees-Mogg called Downing Street’s comments “reassuring” and accused Mr Hammond of being out of step with both the Prime Minister and the Conservative party.
“I think this is not a good position for the Chancellor to be in, to be undermining the Prime Minister," he told BBC News.
“It is of the utmost urgency that he should unite his position with that of the Prime Minister and with that of the Conservative party…”
The arch-eurosceptic stopped short of calling for Mr Hammond's resignation and made clear his support behind the Prime Minister:
“I think 10 Downing Street’s clarification is effectively a stern word, it’s clearly an implied rebuke from the Prime Minister, but it’s a matter for the Prime Minister if she has confidence in him.”
He said the ERG was also fully behind Mrs May, saying: “We fully support Mrs May and the proposals that she has made for Brexit. There is an aspect of it where there are concerns, and this is over a specific part of the bill on the customs union.
“I don’t want to bring those two together – they are separate. There is a couple of clauses in the customs bill that we have doubts about, or a few of us have doubts about, but we fully support the Prime Ministers.”
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