Senior Tory MPs accuse chairman of 'doing a Ratner'

Senior Tory MPs have accused Theresa May, the party chairman, of "doing a Ratner" – echoing the jewellery boss whose "total crap" remark brought down his company – at her conference speech last week.

Andrew Mackay, a former shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland, was one of several MPs who expressed their anger with Mrs May at a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee on Wednesday.

Mrs May told the annual party conference in Bournemouth that some members of the public still viewed the Tories as "the nasty party", unattractive to women, ethnic minorities and gay people.

But backbench MPs claimed that her remarks echoed those of Gerald Ratner who said some of the jewellery sold in his stores was "total crap". One MP said: "She's saying we're crap too. Well, that's an insult to our members and associations up and down the country. It was a disgraceful thing to say at a party conference."

Mr Mackay was cheered when he complained that the leadership should spend more time looking forward instead of dwelling on how the party was perceived in the past.

Michael Portillo, the defeated leadership contender, urged the committee to send a letter congratulating both Mrs May and Iain Duncan Smith on their conference speeches. But his plea was met with what one MP described as "stony silence".

The protests came amid fresh controversies over the sacking of David Davis, the former party chairman, and claims that some in the party wanted to expel Lord Tebbit.

Irvine Laidlaw, the reclusive multimillionaire Tory donor, claimed in an interview that he had encouraged Mr Duncan Smith to "do something" about Mr Davis. "David Davis was clearly staying in the background hoping that Iain would fail," Mr Laidlaw told the Financial Times.

The former chairman, who strenuously denies any allegations of disloyalty, has always maintained that he was smeared by "dark forces" in the Tory hierarchy.

Writing in The Spectator, Lord Tebbit criticised Mr Duncan Smith for failing to keep a promise to phone him about claims that he would be expelled from the party.

Hedescribed his critics as "a bunch of weirdos" calling themselves the Movement and claimed that newspapers had been briefed last week that he was to be thrown out of the party for being white, male, heterosexual and nasty.

"I am not surprised. I was warned weeks ago that a bunch of weirdos – some in high office in the party – have been planning a 'clause four'-style confrontation to demonstrate that the Conservative Party has embraced 'cool Britannia', youth, the gay world and ethnic minorities, and rejected Thatcherism, tax cuts, families and tradition," he wrote.

"Their 'clause four' was for IDS to expel me, split the party and then be replaced by a moderniser."

Lord Tebbit said he had been criticised on Sunday by Tim Yeo, the shadow Trade and Industry Secretary. "I suppose I should be angry, but I really can't manage that. Poor Tim. He has had a worse week than I. Remember, he was sacked by John Major for adultery. That really is unfair."

He said he was told by Mr Duncan Smith's aide Owen Paterson that the leader was devastated by all this and would telephone after his conference speech. "He did not." By Sunday, Lord Tebbit said he had still not heard from Mr Duncan Smith. He said his expulsion was raised at a meeting of Tory peers, many of whom said: "If Tebbit goes, I go."