Back in your box, BoJo! May 'bitch slapped' her Foreign Secretary TWICE in front of other ministers after he led attempted Cabinet mutiny to get NHS £5bn 'Brexit dividend'

• Boris Johnson triggers row by demanding immediate 'Brexit dividend' for NHS
• Foreign Secretary went public with call triggering extraordinary Cabinet row
• Theresa May slapped him down saying Cabinet discussions must stay 'private'  
• His campaign to leave the EU promised billions in extra funding for the NHS
• Philip Hammond slapped down Boris pointing out he is the Foreign Secretary 
• Jeremy Hunt backed call for more NHS cash in select committee appearance

Theresa May 'bitch slapped' Boris Johnson during a bad-tempered showdown in Cabinet today after he went public with a demand for extra NHS cash, a minister has claimed. 

A furious Prime Minister reprimanded the Foreign Secretary after his allies briefed that he would seize the floor at Cabinet to demand a £5billion NHS Brexit dividend.

She pointedly warned ministers that 'Cabinet discussions should take place in private' at the tense meeting after Mr Johnson led a revolt on the crucial issue.

Mrs May also made clear any 'Brexit dividend' for the NHS will not be considered until next year.

Some eight ministers are said to have piled in and voiced their anger at Mr Johnson's behaviour during the meeting. 

Home Secretary Amber Rudd is said to have stressed the need for 'trust' and added: 'I'm talking to you, Foreign Secretary.' 

But hours after the clash the PM faced further pressure to increase NHS spending when Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly backed Mr Johnson's plea.

He told the health select committee: 'I don't think any health secretary is ever going to not support potential extra resources for his or her department.'

Boris Johnson (pictured leaving Downing Street today) was ordered to stop airing grievances in public during a tense Cabinet meeting

It is understood Mr Johnson (pictured leaving No10 today) stopped short of mentioning figures on NHS funding during the Cabinet meeting, after the PM and allies warned ministers that conversations should be conducted in private


Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt gave a presentation on the NHS at the Cabinet meeting today and later backed Boris Johnson's calls for more cash

This morning's dramatic Cabinet clash came after arch-Eurosceptic Mr Johnson demanded the substantial cash injection for the health service as soon as we leave the EU.

Brexiteer ministers such as Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and Penny Mordaunt are keen to demonstrate that the Leave campaign's referendum pledge of significant extra money for the NHS is being kept.

But it is understood Mr Johnson stopped short of mentioning figures during the meeting, after the PM and a string of allies told ministers that conversations should be conducted in private.  

One Cabinet member told ITV that Mrs May 'bitch slapped' Mr Johnson, while Ms Rudd is said to have stressed the need for 'trust' and added: 'I'm talking to you, Foreign Secretary.'

However, other sources argued that there had been broad support for his plea for more funding.

Arriving for talks in Brussels today, Chancellor Philip Hammond dismissed the extraordinary intervention by Mr Johnson - pointing out that he is the Foreign Secretary rather than the Health Secretary


International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who backed Brexit in the referendum, arrived at the Cabinet meeting today (pictured) and is thought to be supportive of Mr Johnson

Earlier, Chancellor Philip Hammond brutally dismissed Mr Johnson's call by pointing out that he is the Foreign Secretary and insisting he would talk to the Health Secretary about funding.

But the revolt underlines mounting Tory disquiet at Theresa May's 'timid' and 'dull' leadership. Labour seized on the split with glee, saying it was unheard of for a Cabinet row to be leaked before it had even happened.

Mrs May's spokesman said the Cabinet discussion on the NHS lasted for around an hour.  

'The PM and a large number of Cabinet ministers made the point that Cabinet discussions should take place in private,' he said. 

ITV anonymous Cabinet minister had told him Mr Johnson 'got a complete bitch slap. Not once but twice'.

Remainer former minister Anna Soubry said the Cabinet big beast should be sacked for 'incompetence and disloyalty'

One Cabinet minister has reported that Boris Johnson received a 'complete bitch slap' from the Prime Minister during today's meeting 


Boris Johnson (pictured arriving for Cabinet today) used the meeting to demand a funding boost for the NHS

Other sources played down claims that Mr Johnson was 'humiliated' by a lack of support in the room, arguing there was 'broad consensus' about the need to divert EU money into the NHS. 

Mr Gove, Chris Grayling and Jeremy Hunt are said to have made supportive remarks.  

Mr Hammond missed the meeting in No10 this morning because he is holding talks with EU counterparts.

But as he arrived in Brussels he told journalists: 'Mr Johnson is the Foreign Secretary. I gave the Health Secretary an extra £6billion at the recent Budget.

'We will look at departmental allocations again in the spending review when that takes place.'  

Another Cabinet rival jibed that it was 'not our job to keep Boris's promises for him', while justice minister Philip Lee - a practising GP - delivered a thinly-veiled dig about the need for government members to focus on their 'own jobs'.

Allies of the PM, including Trade Secretary Liam Fox (pictured centre today), are said to have echoed her call for Cabinet discussions to be conducted in private

Remainer former minister Anna Soubry said Mr Johnson should be sacked for 'incompetence and disloyalty'. 

Mrs May's former chief of staff Nick Timothy also waded into the row, accusing Mr Johnson of disloyalty.

'Breaching collective responsibility and leaking Cabinet discussions are bad enough but part of political life. But pre-briefing your disagreement with government policy ahead of cabinet?' he said. 

The Cabinet big beast is said to have raised the NHS issue with the PM in private on several occasions - but Mrs May believes it would be 'premature' to commit cash before the Brexit terms are finalised.

Commons leader Andrea Leadsom and new education secretary Damian Hinds were also at the gathering in Downing Street today

The PM's spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister reminded Cabinet the Government has consistently said that we will spend money on our priorities such as housing, schools and the NHS.

'There will also be other calls upon that money but we will discuss those priorities at that time.' 

Mr Johnson's concerns are understood to have been heightened by a recent visit to a hospital in his Uxbridge constituency, when he was accompanied by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Friends of Mr Johnson have complained that his plans to give the health service £100million a week are being delayed to prevent him claiming a political victory. 

'We are delivering Brexit and we are going to have to give the NHS more money before the next election, whatever happens,' one said.