Conservative members should be stripped of their power to choose the next Prime Minister as the contest descends into acrimony, a senior Tory has said.
Sir Charles Walker, a former vice-chair of the powerful 1922 Committee, said the idea of letting party members pick the leader was "well past its sell by date" and had descended into "shrill and accusative" attacks.
The battle between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss has become increasingly bitter, with both camps trashing eachother's records.
He said many Tories were privately unhappy with the rules, which allow the 160,000-strong membership to choose the leader from the final two candidates chosen by MPs.
Sir Charles told The Guardian that the contest "should have got nowhere near" the membership amid fears from Tory grandees that increasingly personal attacks are damaging the party.
“It’s a view shared by many of my colleagues privately who wouldn’t dare say it publicly,” he said.
"MPs should be left to pick party leaders because we know the strength and weaknesses of the candidate far better than the membership because we serve and work with them every day in Westminster."
Mr Sunak and Ms Truss are going head-to-head to win the backing of the Tory faithful in a contest that has ignited warfare in the party.
The bad-tempered TV debate on Monday saw Mr Sunak accused of "mansplaining" as he repeatedly interrupted his rival, while Ms Truss slammed his economic record.
Her allies have accused him of "flip flopping" over tax cuts after the ex-Chancellor said he would cut VAT from energy bills - which team Truss described as a "screeching U-turn".
It comes amid a growing clamour among Tory faithful for Boris Johnson to remain in post, with around 13,000 people signing a petition to grant a vote on whether he should resign.
But senior Conservatives are reportedly sceptical of the push after the party's HQ found fewer than half of a sample of signatories were Tory members.
Tory donor Lord Cruddas, who is spearheading the grassroots push, said Mr Johnson had told him over lunch last week that he wants to fight the next election as Tory leader.
