“The Tories were at war over the EU last night after an astonishing revenge attack by the Prime Minister on Boris Johnson. In a packed Commons chamber, David Cameron accused his long-standing rival of backing the Out campaign solely to further his dream of becoming PM. ‘I’m not standing for re-election,’ said Mr Cameron. ‘I have no other agenda than what is best for our country’” – Daily Mail
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“Boris Johnson is now the bookies’ favourite to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister for the first time… A recent survey of a panel of members by the website ConservativeHome found a close race in which eurosceptic candidates had gained at the expense of those in favour of remaining in the EU” – Independent
“Boris Johnson and his children were pictured trailing behind his wife as she was made a QC alongside the spouse of former Labour leader Ed Miliband. Marina Wheeler, 52, and Justine Miliband, 45, were among 107 senior barristers to be appointed to the prestigious legal position of Queen’s Counsel at a ceremony in central London. Ms Wheeler was seen leading the Johnson pack, as she walked to the ceremony with her husband and their sons Milo Arthur and Theodore Apollo and daughters Lara Lettice and Cassia Peaches” – Daily Mail
“David Cameron suffered a humiliating slap down by his own Cabinet minister tonight as Priti Patel said his EU deal could be ‘ripped up by EU judges’ – at the same time as the Prime Minister was telling MPs it was ‘legally binding’… Her direct contradiction of her leader… signals the deeply damaging impact the EU referendum campaign is set to have on the Tory party” – Daily Mail
“Senior backbench Tory MPs last night vowed to oust the PM if he loses the EU referendum, The Sun can reveal. Despite the official line that the PM would carry on regardless of the result, leading MPs on the Tories influential 1922 Committee say the PM would be ‘toast’ if he lost June’s crunch vote. The threat came as Liam Fox – who ran against Cameron for the Tory leadership in 2005 – refused to rule out a challenge for top job in the event of a Brexit” – The Sun
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“Not since the fierce disagreements over the euro in the 1990s have Conservatives so strongly opposed each other in public on a fundamental issue. The party is more evenly divided than it ever was then… It is therefore vital for the country’s sake that ministers do nothing to prevent themselves working as productively together as they have done for the past six years throughout and after this referendum campaign” – William Hague, Daily Telegraph
“The bosses of more than a third of Britain’s 100 largest companies are calling for the country to stay in the European Union, providing a boost to David Cameron as he fights to put his referendum campaign back on track. In a letter to The Times, about 200 business leaders employing more than 1.2 million people echo the prime minister’s warning that Brexit would put the economy at risk” – The Times (£)
“Whatever we may think about how David Cameron got to this point, this is a national fight we face now, not a party one, and for Britain’s sake we need to make sure that the right side wins. For those of us who do not support the prime minister’s policies, we owe it to Britain’s workers not to gamble with the nation’s economy by quitting Europe and taking a leap into the unknown” – Peter Mandelson, Guardian
“The shadow defence secretary has refused to commit the party to spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence, opening a new front in Labour’s internal battle over military expenditure. Emily Thornberry, who has hired Damian McBride, Gordon Brown’s former spin doctor, as her political adviser, is at the centre of a row over whether Labour will support the renewal of the nuclear deterrent” – The Times (£)
“Zac Goldsmith has made more than £10 million from earnings and allowances over the past five years. The Conservative candidate for the London mayoralty published his tax returns to tackle questions over his finances… Since becoming MP for Richmond Park in 2010, Mr Goldsmith has made £6,013,816… He paid nearly £2,776,809 of tax on the sum at a rate of 46 per cent” – The Times (£)
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