Boris Johnson hit back at Rishi Sunak in a full-blown row over peerages as he formally resigned as an MP.
In a dramatic escalation of the Tory civil war, the ex-PM on Monday accused his successor Mr Sunak of talking “rubbish”.
Earlier, the current Prime Minister had publicly confronted Mr Johnson over his nominations of allies to be elevated to the House of Lords.
In strikingly outspoken comments, Mr Sunak said he was not prepared to overrule the House of Lords Appointments Commission (Holac) or make promises to key allies of Mr Johnson about becoming peers.
“And if people don’t like that then tough,” Mr Sunak said at a fintech event in London.
“When I got this job, I said I was going to do things differently because I wanted to change politics and that is what I’m doing.”
But within hours Mr Johnson responded: “Rishi Sunak is talking rubbish.
“To honour these peerages it was not necessary to overrule Holac - but simply to ask them to renew their vetting, which was a mere formality.”
Mr Sunak was also being urged to show how the Conservatives could win the next election with their “best player off the pitch”, after Mr Johnson announced his resignation as an MP on Friday .The Tories trail Labour by a double-digit gap, according to polls, far more than when Mr Johnson was in No 10.
It was confirmed Mr Johnson had formally resigned as an MP on Monday as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt appointed him to be Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern.
As the war of words escalated Tory sources told the Guardian Mr Sunak would block Mr Johnson from standing again as a Conservative MP before the next election.
While the growing row came ahead of the expected publication on Tuesday or Wednesday of the report from the Privileges Committee investigating whether Boris Johnson misled MPs over partygate
The committee met on Monday to finalise its report into Mr Johnson, who dismissed the inquiry as a "witch hunt" as he dramatically announced his resignation from the Commons.
The probe was thought to have ruled that Mr Johnson lied to Parliament when he told MPs that Covid rules were followed in Downing Street despite boozy parties taking place at the time of social distancing restrictions.
Mr Johnson accused the committee of "bias" and likened it to a "kangaroo court" in a scathing 1,000-word exit statement on Friday after receiving a draft of the report.
He claimed he was being driven out of Parliament, with the MPs expected to have been planning to recommend a suspension from the Commons of at least 10 days which could have triggered a by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency.
But Rishi Sunak's spokesman expressed confidence in the MPs' work, saying they were doing "exactly what Parliament has asked them to do".
The seven-person committee is chaired by Labour MP Harriet Harman but has a Tory majority.
"This is a properly set-up committee that the House has voted to carry out their work," the Prime Minister's spokesman told reporters on Monday.
"The Government will in no way traduce or criticise the work of the committee who are doing exactly what Parliament has asked them to do."
The row over peerages comes after former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, ex-minister Nigel Adams and Cop26 president Sir Alok Sharma were reportedly put forward by Mr Johnson for peerages. Ms Dorries and Mr Adams have resigned as MPs since being omitted from the peerages list, leaving Mr Sunak facing three by-elections.
One of Mr Johnson’s allies accused the PM of a “deceitful slight of hand”, claiming No10 had interfered in the nominations list.
But Mr Sunak said: “Boris Johnson asked me to do something that I wasn’t prepared to do because I didn’t think it was right. That was to either overrule the Holac committee or to make promises to people.
“I wasn’t prepared to do that. As I say, I didn’t think it was right. And if people don’t like that then tough.”
But an ally of Mr Johnson was understood to be still accusing Mr Sunak of secretly blocking peerages for Ms Dorries and others without telling Mr Johnson.
Meanwhile, former Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry said the party now had to work out how to win the next election with its “best player off the pitch”.
Piling pressure on Mr Sunak for a major change in policy, he told the Standard: “Now is the time to come forward with a radical tax-cutting and reforming agenda.” He also said the Conservatives needed to keep Mr Johnson’s “buccaneering spirit which is so appealing to the electorate”.
Amid the turmoil, Michael Gove, who scuppered Mr Johnson’s bid to become Tory leader in 2016 and was later sacked by him when he was PM, was sent out by Mr Sunak to repel an onslaught by Mr Johnson.
The Levelling-up Secretary praised his achievements as prime minister but also said that Tory MPs should focus on the jobs of the British public, rather than those at Westminster.
After Mr Johnson’s departure, Mr Gove told of “feeling a sense of sadness at his passing”. But when asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain who was the better leader of the Tory party and PM, Mr Gove said: “Rishi. The focus that he is bringing,...the intellect that he brings to bear, the hard work, the sheer dedication to public service mark Rishi out as a great Prime Minister.”
But he also praised Mr Johnson, particularly for his leadership on the Ukraine war and in the Covid pandemic.
The ex-PM announced on Friday he was quitting as he faced the Privileges Committee’s verdict on whether he misled Parliament over the partygate.
was expected to publish its report very soon.
The probe is thought to have ruled that Mr Johnson misled Parliament, possibly recklessly or intentionally, when he told MPs that Covid rules were followed in Downing Street despite boozy parties taking place while social distancing restrictions were in place.
