Senior Tory MPs have rounded on Sir Simon Clarke after his call to oust Rishi Sunak as Conservative infighting broke out into the open. 

The former Cabinet minister said in a piece for The Telegraph that Mr Sunak must be replaced or the Tories will face an electoral “massacre” at the next general election. 

But Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary, and Sir David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, hit back and warned against engaging in “facile and divisive self indulgence”. 

Dame Priti said: “At this critical time for our country, with challenges at home and abroad, our party must focus on the people we serve and deliver for the country. Engaging in facile and divisive self indulgence only serves our opponents, it’s time to unite and get on with the job.”

Sir David tweeted: “This is getting silly. The Party and the country are sick and tired of MPs putting their own leadership ambitions ahead of the UK’s best interests.”

Sir Simon’s call to get rid of Mr Sunak sets the stage for a potentially fiery Prime Minister’s Questions, with Sir Keir Starmer likely to seize on the Tory infighting. 

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