AMBER Rudd said she believes the Number 10 source that said there are "all sorts of things" they could do to scupper a delay is the Prime Minister's controversial aide Dominic Cummings.
The source was quoted in a recent article in The Spectator by political editor James Forsyth.
Rudd, who resigned from Boris Johnson's Cabinet and the Tory Party last month, was speaking this morning about the response The Spectator received from a Downing Street contact when asked about the progress of the Brexit talks.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson 'has serious questions to answer' over Arcuri
She told the Today programme: "It sounds angry and desperate.
"And the language that is used, I do not believe should be the language of a UK Government. There's a fair amount of speculation about where it came from.
"But since it hasn't been denied by Number 10 and no young woman spad (special adviser), for instance, has been marched out of Downing Street, one can only assume it's come from the centre, from the Prime Minister's adviser.
"And the style of it seems to imply that."
Asked if she thinks it was written by Cummings, she said: "I think Dominic Cummings, yes, because otherwise it would have been heavily denied and heads would have rolled.
"So clearly it's come from them, it's in their style.
Rudd continued: "It reveals that there doesn't appear to be an actual plan at all.
"Instead, what they're doing is angrily, apparently, begging the EU not to support a delay which will be required because of the position that Parliament has taken.
"And I urgently would ask the Prime Minister to take control of this and give us some clarity and some dignity and diplomacy on what is taking place."
"First of all, government has consistently been saying since the Benn Act was passed that they have a cunning plan.
"And many of us have been confused by the idea of saying that they will obey the law but we are definitely leaving on October 31.
"And I don't think that this memo suggests that there is any plan."
She added: "What they're doing, in fact, is going down on one knee and begging EU members not to participate in this."
The former Pensions Secretary said people can convince themselves that the EU might "behave differently ... or we can look at how they actually behave and observe that, actually, they have stuck together over three years".
"And our policy has often been to see if we can divide them and that has not worked," she said.
"They have absolutely stuck together, we should listen to what they've been saying and try and adjust our behaviour, our diplomacy and our plans accordingly."
READ MORE: Brexit: Swinson and Corbyn must ‘grow up’ to stop No Deal, FM says
Meanwhile, a new Brexit readiness document will be published today subject to the Speaker approving a statement by Michael Gove, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
The No-Deal document will look at the preparations which have been made in advance of the October 31 EU departure date.
The paper is intended to provide more detail on No-Deal planning and to satisfy an appetite in Parliament for more information.
The PM's spokesman said it should not be viewed as a shift towards a No-Deal scenario, adding: "The publication is long-planned and is the result of extensive work.
"Talks with the EU are ongoing and it remains our strong desire to leave with a deal."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel