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Philip Hammond today said Boris Johnson must “moderate his language” in a bid to secure a Brexit deal as he hit out at the “unrecognisable” Tory party.
The former chancellor – among 21 MPs who had the Conservative whip withdrawn after voting against the Government on legislation to block a no-deal Brexit – said the Prime Minister needed to “reach out, not slap down” to find a compromise.
He also accused those of advising Mr Johnson over the UK’s exit from the bloc of being “radicals who do not want a deal”.
It came after Amber Rudd accused Mr Johnson of deploying aggressive language that “does incite violence” .
Writing in The Times, he said: “Boris Johnson promised he could get a deal, and he must deliver on that promise before a general election.
“To fulfil that he must… moderate his language and his demeanour — compromise requires reaching out, not slapping down.”
Mr Hammond also expressed his disappointment that the former “broad-church coalition” of the Tory party had been replaced by “an ideological puritanism that brooks no dissent and is more and more strident in its tone”.
He said: “The party I joined as a student and first campaigned for in the 1979 general election is suffering a convulsion that makes it — for now at least — unrecognisable to me.”
Mr Hammond also predicted that it was unlikely that Brexit would be delivered by October 31 – the current date when Britain will leave the European Union.
A bill – which the PM was criticised for describing as the “Surrender Act” – obliges Mr Johnson to seek another extension if no agreement has been reached at October’s European Council meeting.
He said: “The time available means that the only deal with any prospect of delivering that outcome (to be out by October 31) is the deal that they have already rejected and that many of them have voted against.
“So let me make an equally stark prediction: we will not be leaving the EU on October 31.
“And the responsibility for that outcome, like the responsibility for the failure to leave on March 29, lies squarely on the shoulders of those who have rejected the deal that has been on the table for almost a year.”
His comments came as Chancellor Sajid Javid said he would unveil a £16.6 billion no-deal “guarantee” to make up for lost grants should the UK leave the bloc without an agreement.
Mr Javid told the Daily Mail the sum – which includes £4.3 billion for the coming year – would cover EU money given to businesses, universities and charities.
He said a no-deal departure was “very much on the table” and that he feared the fabric of society would be torn if the October 31 deadline was not honoured.
“I just fear we tear that fabric in a way that we might not be able to stitch it up again,” he told the paper.
He added: “I don’t pretend for a second that there won’t be challenges.
“There will be some disruptions here because we can’t control what the EU do in a No Deal situation? Of course not.
“But we are putting in place many mechanisms and processes to handle No Deal and eventually, I also believe that we will come out and be stronger as a country.”
Business secretary Andrea Leadsom told the Financial Times a no-deal departure would cause disruption to the country.
She said: “Plan A is that we get a deal. That’s what we’re working on – that’s the top priority.
“There will be some disruption to the way we do things now. Obviously it will lead to change and to some business disruption, but the government is doing everything it can to minimise it.”
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay met with chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels on Friday and said the “moment of truth” in brokering a new deal is approaching to see if there is “political will on both sides”.
Mr Barclay reiterated opposition to the Irish backstop as Mr Barnier stressed that the Withdrawal Agreement must contain a fully operational solution to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, the European Commission said.
