Mr Hunt said pursuing a policy of leaving the EU without a deal would be political suicide for the Tories after previously insisting he would choose no deal over no Brexit. The Foreign Secretary’s comments enraged Brexiteers who were considering backing Mr Hunt as a “safer” alternative to Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab. Tory MP Crispin Blunt, a former chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, has asked to be taken off a list of Mr Hunt’s supporters compiled by the Conservative Home website.
He told The Times: “It is all very well saying you would try and get a deal but you have to have a plan B.
“And we no longer know what Jeremy’s plan B is. It is very frustrating.
“He has the best personal skill to be the PM — but there is no point in being the leader of a party with just 10 MPs.”
Another senior MP who had privately indicated he planned to back Mr Hunt has now switched his support to Mr Gove.
He said that Tory Brexiteer WhatsApp groups were full of MPs joking about Mr Hunt’s changing positions.
Other Tory MPs agreed the Environment Secretary was gaining ground among those who had been leaning toward Mr Hunt.
A former Cabinet minister said: “Gove is the coming figure for centrist MPs who don’t want to go the whole hog and back someone like Matt Hancock.”
Another Hunt campaign supporter admitted being surprised by the sudden u-turn but said they were backing the Foreign Secretary “for now”.
Eleven candidates have now running in the leadership race and a further five are still considering throwing their hats in the ring.
One Tory MP said the numbers were getting ridiculous.
