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Junior Brexit minister James Cleverly has become the 11th candidate hoping to replace Theresa May as Tory leader as the race continued to escalate into open warfare.
The former deputy chairman of the party and undersecretary of state in the Department for Exiting the European Union said the Conservatives need to “look new and sound different”.
As he joined the race, which includes the likes of Tory heavyweights Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt, Mr Cleverly said the party “needs a complete refresh”.
“We need a change and I believe I am the right person to deliver that change,” he added.
In a letter to constituents, the Braintree MP wrote: “Once Brexit is delivered, we then need to think about how we can make the Conservatives look new and sound different.
“From the politics we have seen in the last two years, it is clear it needs a complete refresh. We need a change and I believe I am the right person to deliver that change.”
The race is now entering open warfare, with leadership candidate Matt Hancock blasting rival Boris Johnson over his pro-business credentials.
The Health Secretary referred to a remark attributed to Mr Johnson last year where he said “f*** business” following concerns from some in industry that a hard Brexit would damage the economy. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Hancock said: “To the people who say ‘f*** business’, I say ‘f***, f*** business.”‘
Mr Johnson, a former foreign secretary, refused to deny making the comment.
Three Cabinet ministers have also hit out at Brexiteers ready to crash Britain out of the EU within months.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and Justice Secretary David Gauke tore into the hardline approach being pursued by Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey for the UK to leave on October 31, with or without a deal.
In an interview with the Evening Standard, Tory leadership hopeful Mr Stewart attacked no-deal Brexiteers for “Wizard of Oz” thinking and vowed to vote against such a move “without hesitation”.
He also warned on no deal: “You would end up with Jeremy Corbyn.” Mr Hunt stressed that pursuing no deal risked triggering a general election because it would be torpedoed in Parliament, and that the resulting verdict from voters would be “absolutely catastrophic” for the Tories.
In his announcement, Mr Cleverly said a no-deal Brexit was “not his preferred choice”, while Mr Hancock told the FT he did not believe no deal would be an option for the next Prime Minister.
He said he believed Commons Speaker John Bercow would block any attempts to impose no-deal without the backing of MPs. Mr Hancock said: “I think the Speaker would facilitate a majority in the House of Commons who are opposed to no deal in exactly the same way as he did in the run-up to the 29 March.”
He added: “The brutal reality is, no deal is not a policy choice available to the next Prime Minister.”
Elsewhere, Mr Bercow knocked back suggestions he would step down from the speakership this summer. Speaking to the Guardian, Mr Bercow said it was not “sensible to vacate the chair” while Brexit was unresolved.
He said: “I’ve never said anything about going in July of this year. Secondly, I do feel that now is a time in which momentous events are taking place and there are great issues to be resolved and in those circumstances, it doesn’t seem to me sensible to vacate the chair.”
The Speaker added: “If I had any intention to announce on that matter … I would do so to Parliament first.”
