Tory party will split if Boris Johnson becomes leader and pursues no-deal Brexit, warn MPs

Electing Boris Johnson leader on a no-deal Brexit ticket would risk a permanent split in the Conservative Party, a former minister has warned. The former foreign secretary has established himself as firm favourite to succeed Theresa May as prime minister in a contest many in Westminster expect to be triggered within weeks. It comes as the prime minister prepares to deliver a speech on Brexit this week, in what a government source billed as a 'bold offer' to MPs in a last-ditch attempt to build support for her beleaguered Brexit bill in the Commons.