Senior Tories publicly reject call to oust Rishi Sunak

Former defence secretary Ben Wallace dismissed Simon Clarke’s call to oust Mr Sunak, saying “division and another prime minister would lead to the certain loss of power”.

Simon Clarke has called for Rishi Sunak to go before the election (Danny Lawson/PA)

Senior Tories have warned against another round of damaging infighting after former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke called for Rishi Sunak to be replaced as leader to avoid a Conservative “massacre” at the general election.

British home secretary James Cleverly said it would be “foolish” to have further dissent within the party, arguing that it would leave the door open to Labour’s Keir Starmer.