The PM (pictured making a speech this week) is expected to make very limited changes to her top team after Priti Patel’s departure
Theresa May is battling to shore up her crisis-hit Cabinet today as she mulls a replacement for ousted Priti Patel.
The Prime Minister is carrying out her second enforced reshuffle in a week, but she has little room to manoeuvre amid a bewildering array of crises.
Having faced a major backlash from MPs over her decision to appoint close ally Gavin Williamson after Sir Michael Fallon resigned over sleaze allegations seven days ago, Mrs May will be hoping her latest move is better received.
Work and Pensions minister Penny Mordaunt has been hotly tipped for promotion to the vacant International Development post – and would appease Brexiteers who are demanding someone who is ‘enthusiastic’ about leaving the EU.
Miss Patel was a prominent Leave supporter in the referendum and Mrs May has up to now been careful to maintain a balance on the key issue in Cabinet.
Others in the frame include International Development ministers Rory Stewart and Alistair Burt, as well as sports minister Tracey Crouch.
Senior backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘I don’t think it has to necessarily be somebody who campaigned for Brexit, but it does have to be somebody who is enthusiastic about Brexit.’
EU leaders are said to be preparing for the collapse of Mrs May’s government by Christmas after scandal and divisions threatened to erode its slender grip on power.
The PM’s deputy Damian Green is still being investigated over sex harassment allegations that surfaced as part of the Westminster sleaze furore.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson faces demands to resign over loose comments that might double the jail term for a British mother in Iran.
Miss Patel, once tipped as a Tory leader, tweeted her thanks for ‘support and kindness’ she had been shown today after she was forced to quit the Cabinet over her secret dealings with the Israeli government.
Amid farcical scenes, Miss Patel was ordered to fly home to face the music last night just 12 hours into a tour of Africa – and just two days after she was reprieved by Mrs May.
She quit in a short meeting with the PM in Downing Street – but in her resignation letter she issued a thinly veiled warning that she could challenge the Government from the backbenches over Brexit, as allies argued she had been treated harshly.
Miss Patel’s departure follows Sir Michael Fallon’s decision to quit as defence secretary last week, over accusations of misconduct against women.
The government was already being propped up on the slenderest of margins by the DUP, and question marks are still hanging over the futures of further frontbenchers in Boris Johnson and Damian Green.
Mrs May has already lost Sir Michael Fallon (pictured front row, third from left) from her Cabinet, while Priti Patel (pictured right of middle row) has now gone
Miss Patel entered the famous building by the back door shortly after 6pm last night before the fateful talk with Mrs May
Miss Patel was driven away through the gates after drawing a line under her time as a minister
Brussels is now braced for the PM being ousted by her party, or for another General Election bringing Jeremy Corbyn to Number 10.
One European leader told the Times: ‘There is the great difficulty of the leadership in Great Britain, which is more and more fragile.
‘Britain is very weak and the weakness of Theresa May makes negotiations very difficult.’
THE RUNNERS AND RIDERS TO REPLACE PRITI PATEL IN CABINET
Penny Mordaunt is regarded as the favourite to take over from Miss Patel
Penny Mordaunt is regarded as the front runner to take over from Priti Patel when the seemingly inevitable sacking happens tonight.
The minister for the disabled was hotly tipped to take over when Sir Michael Fallon was forced to quit as Defence Secretary last week.
But Mrs May chose to promote close ally Gavin Williamson instead, infuriating some Tory MPs.
As a prominent Brexiteer, 44-year-old Ms Mordaunt’s appointment would not upset the delicate balance in the Cabinet between Leave and Remain ministers.
Other names in the frame include business minister Margot James, 60, who is widely respected. However, she has not previously reached Minister of State level, and was a Remainer before the referendum.
Sports minister Tracy Crouch, 42, is seen as a prospect for promotion.
Education minister Anne Milton, 61, would also be a popular choice among fellow MPs and is seen as a safe pair of hands. Unusually, she did not say publicly which way she voted on Brexit.
Miss Patel’s downfall followed extraordinary revelations last week that she held a dozen secret meetings with senior Israelis, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a ‘family holiday’ in August.
In a major breach of protocol, Miss Patel took no officials with her to the meetings, at which no minutes were kept. Instead, she was accompanied by Tory peer Lord Polak, honorary president of the powerful lobby group Conservative Friends of Israel.
During ‘clear the air’ talks in No 10 on Monday, Miss Patel promised the Prime Minister she had revealed everything about her secret dealings with Israel.
But to the irritation of Downing Street, it emerged the following day that she had proposed diverting British aid money to fund the Israeli army’s humanitarian activities in the Golan Heights – a disputed territory which Britain has not recognised since it was annexed by Israel 50 years ago.
However, Downing Street continued to say the PM had full confidence in Miss Patel as late as 4.30pm on Tuesday.
Mrs May’s patience finally snapped on Tuesday night when she learned that Miss Patel had held another undisclosed meeting with Israeli public security minister Gilad Erdan in Parliament on September 7.
The PM’s problems could still escalate amid claims she spoke to Miss Patel about her meeting with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu as long ago as September.
The Jewish Chronicle claimed No10 asked Miss Patel not to include a meeting with foreign ministry official Yuval Rotem in New York in September in her list of disclosures.
Downing Street is also said to have been made aware of Miss Patel’s meeting with Mr Netanyahu shortly after it happened – despite a spokesman telling journalists this week that they were unaware until last Friday.
In the most explosive allegation, it is said Mrs May spoke to Ms Patel in advance of the UN General Assembly and they discussed the minister’s meeting with Mr Netanyahu, as well as the details of Ms Patel’s plan for UK aid to be shared with the Israelis.
Mrs May is said to have agreed the idea was ‘sensible’ but needed sign off from the Foreign Office.
But a No10 spokesman said: ‘It is not true that the Prime Minister knew about the International Development Secretary’s meeting with PM Netanyahu before Friday November 3.
‘It is equally untrue to say that No 10 asked DfID to remove any meetings from the list they published this week.’
Deputy PM Damian Green, who is under investigation by the Cabinet Office, posted a picture of himself being shown a lifeboat in Moray
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, pictured in Washington tonight where he is meeting US politicians on Capitol Hill, was unaware of Miss Patel’s meeting before they happened