Patel’s article coincided with Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London, and Michael Gove, the justice secretary, writing an open letter to Cameron asking him to accept that it would be impossible for him to achieve his manifesto promise of getting net migration below 100,000 if the United Kingdom stayed in the EU.
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Nadine Dorries, the MP for Mid Bedfordshire, accused Mr Cameron of “lying profoundly” during the campaign and disclosed she had already submitted her letter. “There are many issues about which David Cameron has told outright lies”, Ms Dorries told ITV.
“There will easily be 50 MPs who will write letters of no confidence to the chairman of the 1922 committee”.
In their letter to Mr Cameron, Mr Gove and Mr Johnson appear to ridicule his immigration pledge, declaring: “Voters were promised repeatedly at elections that net immigration could be cut to the tens of thousands”.
David Cameron has been put on notice a post European Union referendum leadership challenge is looming as Tory civil war on Europe escalates further. He said that, if the country decides to detach itself from its continental partners, there would be “an orderly departure for the prime minister”.
“I think it’s going to be very, very hard to pull all the sides together and have a working majority going forward”, Mr Bridgen told BBC Radio Five’s Pienaar’s Politics.
Meanwhile, a minister in Cameron’s cabinet, Priti Patel, wrote an article accusing the “Remain” campaign of being led by people whose wealth protected them from the impact of immigration.
With six ministers in his top team campaigning against Government policy on the European Union, the Prime Minister has spoken of his “frustration” at the open divisions within Cabinet.
Former London Mayor Boris Johnson and Justice Secretary Michael Gove used a Sunday Times letter to say that Cameron’s goal of lowering immigration can not be achieved while Britain remains in the European Union.
Dorries comments came after fellow Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said it was “highly likely” there would be a challenge to Cameron’s leadership after the referendum.
“It’s shameful those leading the pro-EU campaign fail to care for those who do not have their advantages”. We could end up in a situation where we have a four-year zombie parliament.
“I’m willing for us to put aside our differences, put aside the grudges that he or I may have, but this debate is far more important than David Cameron or me”, he added.
“There is no reformed EU”, Mr Fox told the BBC on Sunday.
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As the war of words heightened, Tory former PM Sir John Major said the Leave side had “knowingly told untruths about the cost of Europe – they have promised negotiating gains that can not and will not be delivered”. “To mislead the British nation in this fashion – when its very future is at stake – is unforgivable”.
