Rory Stewart throws weight behind Hunt in Tory leadership contest
International development secretary Rory Stewart has confirmed he is backing foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt to be the next prime minister.
“I’m not a supporter of Boris and I wouldn’t serve in his cabinet, so I’m supporting Jeremy Hunt,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
Read more: Boris Johnson challenges Jeremy Hunt to commit to 31 October Brexit deadline
Stewart, who was eliminated from the Tory leadership race last week, criticised Johnson for “pretending he has a magic solution” to the Brexit crisis.
“The problem with Boris Johnson is he’s telling people what they want to hear,” he said. “The reality is he can’t do it and he’s going to let people down.”
It comes after Hunt last night said Stewart was destined to go “a lot higher” in government.
Stewart added that he would vote against the government to try and prevent a no-deal Brexit but would not vote to bring down the government and trigger a general election.
The clash between Hunt and Johsnon over the issue of Brexit has escalated in recent days.
Hunt yesterday branded 31 October a “fake deadline” for Brexit and warned pushing for it could spark a general election and open the door to a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn.
The comments came after Johnson penned an open letter challenging his rival to commit to taking the UK out of the EU before the Halloween deadline.
Read more: Boris Johnson reveals he makes models of buses to relax, and Twitter lost it
Johnson warned of “devastating” consequences for the Conservative Party and the country if the next prime minister failed to deliver Brexit.
Meanwhile, Hunt has criticised his opponent over the question of TV debates, after Johnson refused to take part in a programme hosted by Sky News.