Mr Stewart, MP for Penrith and The Border and Secretary of State for International Development, revealed he has the numbers to stop a no deal from happening without taking down the next Prime Minister just weeks after his election. Tory grandee and pro-EU MP Ken Clarke and Chancellor of the Exchequers Philip Hammond have hinted they could back a no-confidence vote called by the Labour Party if Mr Johnson wins the Tory leadership contest and heads for a no deal. But Mr Stewart, one of the six candidates to replace Theresa May, said that won’t be necessary.
During hustings in Westminster, the Tory leadership candidate told The Independent: “We can stop a no-deal Brexit much more easily than that.
“I, and nearly 100 of my colleagues, would vote to prevent a no-deal Brexit without having to bring down a Conservative Government.”
This revelation may put Mr Stewart on a collision course with Mr Clarke who, in the run-up to the first round of voting in the leadership race last week has been one of the most vocal supporters of the minister.
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Mr Stewart, who voted Remain in the EU Referendum three years ago, also ruled out backing a second Brexit vote, branding it “catastrophic and divisive”.
The six Tory MPs, including Mr Stewart, taking part in the Tory leadership race are now heading towards the second round of voting.
During this week’s vote, the Tory hopefuls will need to find at least 33 Conservative MPs backing their race – or face the exclusion from it.
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During the first round, the International Development Secetary gathered the support of 19 MPs, just one less than Health Secretary Matt Hancock and four less than Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Three MPs failed to pass the 17-vote benchmark set by the new rules established by the 1922 Committee earlier this year to speed up the contest – Andrea Leadsom, Esther McVey and Mark Harper.
And Mr Hancock retired from the contest the day after the vote to back Mr Johnson.
He wrote on Twitter: “It’s time to unite.
“I’m backing Boris to be the next PM on a pro-enterprise One Nation ticket.”
Mr Johnson, the former Foreign Secretary who pledged to lead the UK out of the EU by October 31 with or without a deal, received 114 votes, enough to land him one of the two finalists’ places in the race.
