Jeremy Hunt ignored a call from Liz Truss begging him to be Chancellor - because it seemed so ludicrous he thought it was a prank, it emerged today.
The former leadership candidate was given the surprise appointment to replace Kwasi Kwarteng, who was sacked last Friday within minutes of landing in the UK from Washington DC.
Within days Mr Hunt had torn up the vast majority of Ms Truss’ tax-cutting mini-Budget and launched a quest for sweeping spending cuts to balance the books.
But it’s now emerged he dismissed “persistent” calls from an unknown number on Friday morning while on a city break with his wife Lucia and three children in Belgium.
When the caller then texted ‘Jeremy, it’s Liz Truss, please call urgently’, the former Cabinet minister laughed out loud, the Daily Mail revealed. A source said the account is accurate.
Eventually, Ms Truss - who was using a number different to the one he had saved in his phone - ordered staff to contact his constituency office in South West Surrey.
Only half an hour after that did an “embarrassed” Mr Hunt return the call. He spent 10 minutes considering the offer then called back with a “long list of conditions” including the vast U-turn.
He caught a Eurostar back to London with his wife and eventually arrived back at their Pimlico home in a black cab at 2.50pm.
It was only nine days after Ms Truss complained about “anti-growth” politicians who “taxi from North London townhouses to the BBC studio to dismiss anyone challenging the status quo”.
And that would not be her only U-turn. Three days after he was appointed Mr Hunt, who agreed the move in Chequers crisis talks with the PM, tore up £32bn of her tax cuts.
As part of a bid for spending cuts, Mr Hunt put the future of pensions - which Ms Truss previously said would rise by 10.1% inflation - up for grabs.
But after Tory fury she again U-turned today at PMQs, saying she was “committed” to the triple lock and pensions would rise by inflation.
The embattled PM faced a barrage of new Tory anger amid her double U-turn over pensions.
Trying to reassert her authority, Tory whips declared a Labour vote over fracking policy tonight will be a “motion of confidence” in her government.
Labour said traditionally, that would mean if the government lost the vote, the Prime Minister would resign and the government would fall.
But a sixth MP, William Wragg, defied the orders by explicitly calling for Ms Truss to quit - telling the Commons he had “lodged” a letter of no confidence.
In a double blow, he said he would have rebelled in tonight’s fracking vote - but won’t, because he doesn’t want to lose the whip and have the number of no confidence letters fall.
Mr Wragg told MPs: “I cannot go and face my constituents, look them in the eye and say they should support my great party. And the polls seem to bear that out.”
While only six MPs have publicly called for Ms Truss to quit, dozens more say she should go in private and others have challenged her authority.
She was barraged by Tories in the Commons today over reports she will fail to raise benefits with inflation, fail to meet pledges on foreign aid, and delay a cap on care costs.
One Tory MP, Robert Largan, wrote of “dumpster fires” yesterday while another, Steve Double, today warned the PM will soon “have to consider her position and step aside”.
He told Times Radio: “Increasingly I think [due to] the loss of confidence in her from the parliamentary party, we are going to get to the point where she really does have to consider her position and for the good of the country, step aside.
“And I think we will probably come to that place quite soon."
Ms Truss confirmed in a PMQs U-turn that she would raise pensions in line with 10.1% inflation - 24 hours after Downing Street announced it was up for review.
Yet she refused to say working-age benefits or even carers’ allowance would rise by 10.1%, sparking anger from some MPs.
Mr Double urged the PM to protect an inflation rise not just to pensions, but also working-age benefits like Universal Credit .
He added: “We should not be balancing the books for the situation that we now find ourselves in, off the backs of those who need that support the most.”
Tory MP John Baron urged her to “retain compassion in politics in these decisions, including maintaining the link between benefits and inflation”.
Conservative former minister James Cartlidge said "we should all be very concerned" after reports that a cap on social care costs could be delayed.
And former Aid Secretary Andrew Mitchell urged her to stick to the Tory manifesto pledge to spend 0.7% of national income on foreign aid.
Tory MP Miriam Cates said she did not know if Liz Truss should lead the party into the next election.
She told GB News: “I don't know. I mean, I think the polling is really bad.
“I don't think we should always be following the polling and we shouldn't be creating our policy off the back of polling.
“But I think that the key thing I would like to see her and the government address is this realignment that got us elected to office in 2019.”
Even Tory supporters of Liz Truss have been turning against the PM.
One MP last week told the Mirror their “hysterical” colleagues had a “death wish” adding: “It’s not as bad as everyone makes out."
But today the MP said: "That was before Kwasi was sacked. Now, I don't know."
The MP predicted Liz Truss would not be ousted immediately - but suggested there were doubts over her future.
