Cabinet minister accused of gossiping about Tory top brass in busy restaurant
Chief secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss has not denied claims about her gossiping in earshot of diners Photo: PA / Stefan Rousseau - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Cabinet minister Liz Truss has been accused of being loose lipped in a busy London restaurant.
The chief secretary of the Treasury allegedly said the 'only person worse at managing people than David Cameron is Theresa May' and predicted that home secretary Sajid Javid could mount a bid to become the next Conservative leader.
It is believed Truss was chatting to a journalist at the Royal Quarter Cafe, in Buckingham Palace gate, Westminster, on Monday in easy earshot of other diners.
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And even after repeated attempts by this newspaper to get a response from Truss she has failed to deny the claims.
The alleged outburst was overheard and published on Twitter by Zack Polanski, a former Green Party parliamentary candidate.
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In his transcript he alleges Truss says: 'The only person worse at managing people than David Cameron is Theresa May.
'She's such a pacifist whereas I embrace the chaos. I'm a thrill seeker. I'm enjoying watching France... Macron is such a technocrat and there are consequences – worse than a lame Blair and Brown.'
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And offering her candid views on her cabinet colleagues it is claimed she said: 'Jeremy Hunt is so charming. There's no consistency though. One minute he's all about the free market and the next...
'Matt Hancock is actually getting stuck into policy whereas Jeremy was all about the game playing.'
And giving her views on the next Tory leader she added: 'It's going to be Sajid or Jeremy for leader because of the AV system. The only one who could beat them with members is Boris.'
One Tory colleague said: 'Sounds like typical Liz to me. She is very forthright. I doubt it will do her much harm in the long run but she probably feels rather silly today.'
Mr Polanski said: 'I respect that people will be concerned about invasion of privacy – I respect that instinct. Ultimately though this is a public conversation of a very senior figure who says one thing on television and clearly believes differently.
'If this is 'typical Liz' then I would question Theresa May's judgement on who is in her cabinet – never mind Brexit.
'Surely such open gossip in public about cabinet meetings is a resignation issue?'
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