Jeremy Hunt brands No Deal Brexit 'suicide' in first shot of Tory leadership war

Jeremy Hunt today said pushing for No Deal Brexit would be “political suicide” as he fired the first salvo of the Tories’ leadership war.

The Foreign Secretary warned prompting no deal could lead to “extinction” and a general election – putting Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street by Christmas.

He said any bid to crash out without a deal would be blocked by Parliament, forcing the new PM to call or bow to a “catastrophic” general election.

“Trying to deliver no deal through a general election is not a solution; it is political suicide,” Mr Hunt – one of 10 leadership candidates – wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

He said “no deal is better than no Brexit ,” but added: “A different deal is the only solution and what I will pursue if I am leader.”

He was instantly attacked by hardline rival Esther McVey who tweeted: “Political suicide actually lies in not having a clean break from the EU and not leaving on October 31.”

The move means Mr Hunt is staking his claim as the moderate candidate while his nine rivals line up to back crashing out without an agreement.

The aggressive intervention singles him out as an alternative to Tories like Esther McVey, Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab who urged a no-deal exit on October 31.

But it could also make him unpopular with the 160,000 Tory members who will vote between two final candidates in July.

Today Mr Hunt said the only solution is to “change the Withdrawal Agreement” Theresa May agreed with the EU in a new round of talks.

Yet the EU has repeatedly said it will not reopen the 585-page Withdrawal Agreement, which was finished in November 2018 and has been blocked by MPs ever since.

Mr Hunt also claimed he wanted Brexiteers including the DUP and Tory hardliners to join the negotiating team.

But he refused to say he would involve Nigel Farage, whose Brexit Party won a landslide in the EU elections, or Jeremy Corbyn who he accused of bad faith.

And he said going to Brussels with a hardline stance will only provoke a “hardline response”.

Mr Hunt confirmed he would serve under Boris Johnson if the Tory frontrunner becomes Prime Minister.

Remain-backing leadership rival Rory Stewart has refused to serve in a Boris Johnson government, while Chancellor Philip Hammond even refused to rule out voting ‘no confidence’ in one.

But Mr Hunt said: “I’d be delighted to serve him and I hope he’d be delighted to serve me.”