Kemi Badenoch has told disgruntled Tory MPs to "stop messing around" after a bruising weekend for Rishi Sunak.
Disgruntled backbenchers are circling the PM as anxious Conservatives brace themselves for a general election mauling. Mr Sunak last week bottled holding a May election - but is likely to be storing up problems if the party suffers humiliating defeats in council elections.
Meanwhile the Business Secretary said she was comfortable with the Tories acception millions from Frank Hester, whose alleged comments about Diane Abbott she last week branded "racist". After a torrid week for Mr Sunak, rumours emerged over the weekend that fed up MPs want to topple the Prime Minister so Penny Mordaunt can lead the party into the next election.
Other names tipped to succeed Mr Sunak are Suella Braverman, Grant Shapps and Ms Badenoch. Addressing the rumours, she told LBC: "The facts are that the party works very well together, of course there will be some people who are unhappy, I'm not going to deny that."
She went on: "These people who are going around are being self indulgent but this is part and parcel of politics." And quizzed if she had a message to plotters, she said: "People need to stop messing around and get behind the PM."
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Ms Badenoch said the focus should be on the May 2 local elections rather than more "psychodrama". She said: "There are thousands of countries all around the country who are going to be standing for election in May. We need people to focus on what they've been doing and not the Westminster psychodrama."
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Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned his grumpy colleagues that it's "too late" to replace Mr Sunak even if they want to. He said: "Rishi Sunak is the prime minister. He set out his plan. He set out his idea and vision, which I think is to effectively, quite rightly, fix the economy, get inflation down. If we get inflation down, we can see interest rates drop. Whether colleagues are happy with him or not, it's too late, right.
"Get on with it. Stand up. And you know, at some stage this year, commit to engage in the general election and put our best case forward. There is no other alternative. And that's just the reality of it. And some of those people missed the boat."
Ms Mordaunt has not publicly commented on claims about an effort to elevate her to the Tory leadership, but a source close to her rejected them as "nonsense". It is claimed right wingers met with moderates to discuss rallying round her as a leader once Mr Sunak is ousted.
But launching a fightback, Mr Sunak vowed that 2024 "will be the year Britain bounces back" in remarks issued by Downing Street. He faces a gruelling week, with his exorbitantly expensive Rwanda plan back before the Commons - and he'll also have to face backbench Tories when he addresses the powerful 1922 Committee.
He said: "There is now a real sense that the economy is turning a corner with all the economic indicators pointing in the right direction. This year, 2024, will be the year Britain bounces back."
Asked on BBC Breakfast about remarks allegedly made by the Tories' biggest donor, Frank Hester, she said: "That was a week ago, I'm surprised I'm still talking about it." She went on: "I thought that the comments were racist but he apologised, and when people apologise we have to accept that and move on."
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