Tory MP calls on Theresa May to quit at Prime Minister’s Questions

Theresa May has faced a direct call from a Conservative MP in the House of Commons to step down and hand over to a new Prime Minister.

Brexit-backing Andrea Jenkyns told Mrs May that she had “failed” in EU withdrawal negotiations and forfeited the trust of the public.

The full-frontal assault at Prime Minister’s Questions came as pressure increased on Mrs May to name a date for her departure and cross-party Brexit talks with Labour dragged on without a conclusion.

Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom has said she is “seriously considering” standing for the Conservative leadership.

Ms Leadsom, who stood for the leadership in 2016 but pulled out to give Mrs May a clear run at the job, became the latest senior Tory to indicate she may throw her hat into the ring for the upcoming contest.

The Leader of the Commons said: “I’ve supported her for the last three years to get Brexit over the line. She has said she’s going, so yes I am seriously considering standing.”

Speaking at PMQs in the Commons shortly afterwards, Morley and Outwood MP Ms Jenkyns told MPs it was time for Mrs May to quit.

She said: “She’s tried her best, nobody could fault or doubt her commitment and sense of duty, but she has failed.

“The public no longer trust her to run Brexit negotiations. Isn’t it time to step aside and let someone else lead our country, our party and the Brexit negotiations?”

Mrs May retorted: “This is not an issue about me and it’s not an issue about her. If it were an issue about me and the way I vote, we would already have left the European Union.”