'Don't sack Philip Hammond' say business leaders in face of Brexiteer pressure for Chancellor's removal

Business leaders hit back against calls for PM to remove the Chancellor from Cabinet for his refusal to make funds available for a ‘no deal’ Brexit

‘The Chancellor has widespread support and respect of the business community, and clearly understands the significant economic consequences of a hard Brexit,’ said BT chairman (Getty)

Business leaders have rallied to the defence of Philip Hammond, in the face of a clamour among Brexiteers for him to be sacked by Theresa May.

The Chancellor provoked fury among Brexiteers last week when he told the Treasury Select Committee he would not authorise the release of public funds to prepare Britain for a “no deal” Brexit scenario in 2019, “just to make some demonstration point”.

This prompted one of his predecessors, Lord Lawson, to accuse Mr Hammond of engaging in Brexit “sabotage” and say the Prime Minister ought to remove him from the Treasury at the next Cabinet reshuffle.

The JD Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin similarly accused the Chancellor of being a “blocker”, and the Daily Mail called him “treacherous”.

But Mr Hammond has the backing of the Confederation of British Industry lobby group. The CBI’s president, Paul Drechsler, said: “Business wants to see the Government united and working together in the national interest in these challenging and turbulent times.

“The Chancellor is working tirelessly with cabinet colleagues to get the best possible deal for the UK and should be supported in his efforts.”

That positive verdict was echoed by the British Chambers of Commerce. “Businesses want answers on Brexit and a vision for improving the business environment here at home, not endless political noise,” said Dr Adam Marshall, its director general.

“Personality politics and public division do nothing to shore up business confidence or instil faith that the economy is being put first.”

A spokesperson for the EEF Manufacturers’ Organisation said: “The current Chancellor has so far done a good job of both highlighting the dangers and trying to offset the problems we face by supporting common sense over dogma.”

A spokesperson for another business organisation, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mr Hammond had historically acted in the best interest of business and that sacking him would not be the right thing to do.

There was also strong personal backing for Mr Hammond from Sir Mike Rake, the chairman of BT. “The Chancellor has widespread support and respect of the business community, and clearly understands the significant economic consequences of a hard Brexit,” he told Sky News.

Brexiteers have argued that the Treasury must authorise spending in preparation for a collapse in the Brexit negotiations, such as expanding the capacity of the UK’s ports to cope with the need for extensive new customs checks in April 2019.

At the TSC last Wednesday, Mr Hammond said he would only allocate significant amounts of taxpayers’ money to cope with a collapse in talks at the last possible minute.

“Every pound we spend on contingent preparations for a hard customs border is a pound we can’t spend on the NHS, social care, education or deficit reduction,” he said.

Mr Hammond also admitted it was “theoretically possible” that a “no deal” could ground all flights from the UK to Europe.

In its submission to the Chancellor ahead of the November Budget, to be published on Monday, the CBI is expected to call on Mr Hammond to turn his attention to supporting UK growth, rather than deficit reduction and to “break the cycle of austerity”.