PHILIP Hammond has packed his bags and left Downing Street after he threatened to bring down Boris Johnson’s government to block a No Deal Brexit.
The Chancellor – whose official resident is at 11 Downing Street – was seen loading suitcases into the back of a car ahead of what are almost certainly his final days in the job.
4
He had branded Brexiteers “vulgar” and “thoughtless” as he let rip on Boris and other Leavers in his last days in No11.
In a hard-hitting interview in French paper Le Monde (The World) he was asked repeatedly if he would vote no confidence in the next government if it went for No Deal, but he refused to rule it out.
He said: “I will argue there is no EU exit without Parliament’s approval.”
And when asked explicitly whether he would vote down Boris’ government, he added: “I do not exclude anything at the moment.”
Labour has threatened to bring the entire Government down if Boris goes full-steam ahead for a No Deal.
Yesterday Boris was dealt a blow after MPs voted to try and block the move.
Mr Hammond, who is set to be moved out of No11 if Boris wins the Tory leadership contest next week, vowed he would do “everything in his power” to block a No Deal, and he “regrets” Boris’ attitude to Brexit too.
“Some of my countrymen are being deliberately noisy, vulgar and thoughtless,” he said.
“They want to annoy Europeans to the point they demand we go. But please, don’t listen to this handful of individuals.”
‘VULGAR’
Mr Hammond also said that a THIRD Brexit extension was “absolutely necessary” but admitted that it couldn’t be extended permanently.
He said: “But, in practice, extending the deadline is absolutely necessary. Between the summer break, the arrival of the new Commission and the change of the British government, it is simply impossible to negotiate anything before October 31.
“If the next government is sincere in its desire to reach an agreement with Europe, it must try to get more time. If it does not, the British Parliament will insist on getting a new extension.”
Mr Johnson is the favourite to take over from Theresa May as Prime Minister, and insists that –three years since the Brexit referendum – a clean break is essential.
He’s vowed to take Britain out of the EU with or without a deal on October 31.
Acknowledging that he is likely to step down as Chancellor if Mr Johnson becomes leader, Mr Hammond said: “I will remain a member of the House of Commons. I will do everything in my power from my position to make sure that Parliament blocks a Brexit without agreement.”
4
4
4
In one of its most scathing attacks on a foreign politician ever, Le Monde last month said a Johnson government would be a disaster.
In an article published under the headline ‘Boris Johnson at the head of the United Kingdom? No thanks!’, the paper portrayed Mr Johnson as a lying bigot, adding: ‘His entry to 10 Downing Street would be a calamity for his country and for Europe.’
SUN SAYS: ROTTEN HAMM
NOT for years has a man dishonoured high office as Philip Hammond is now doing.
If he intends to rebrand himself as the Remainers’ rebel leader why doesn’t he have the guts to resign immediately?
Instead he is misusing his last days as Chancellor, texting fellow Tory mutineers to undermine Boris Johnson, then sneaking off to the foreign Press to talk up a second referendum and threaten to topple his own party’s Government.
All while virtue-signalling to Brussels about the “vulgar, thoughtless and noisy” Brits desperate for Brexit to happen, as our democracy demands.
Hammond has been a disaster as Chancellor, his achievements all but non-existent. He now hopes to redefine himself as the man who stopped No Deal, crashed the new PM and Government, triggered an election and possibly destroyed the Tories. Quite the legacy.
There are a fair few walking calamities in Theresa May’s Cabinet. But none worse.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online politics team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours
