Michael Gove says leadership rival Hunt treated Brexit liked an 'unexploded bomb' as he insists he is the man to take on Boris

Michael Gove today takes aim at leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, telling the Evening Standard that the Foreign Secretary treated Brexit like an “unexploded bomb” rather than a springboard to success.

In an exclusive interview, the Environment Secretary said the final shortlist put to Conservative party members should be a choice between two people who “consistently favoured Brexit”.

And in a clear swipe at Mr Hunt he argued: “One of the problems we have had is that some of those involved at the coal face of the Brexit negotiations have been people who have seen Brexit as a problem to be handled, a UXB to be defused, rather than a springboard to a better future.”

UXB was Second World War parlance for an unexploded German bomb. The precision strike at his friend and rival comes ahead of today’s second ballot of Tory MPs which could decide which of them is going into the final round.

Mr Gove conceded that Mr Hunt was “just ahead” in the first vote last Thursday but confessed his delight when the gap between them turned out to be only six votes. “I thought: ‘it’s all to play for’,” he grinned happily. “As my old mate Ed Balls would say, ‘Game on!’”

Mr Gove also lobbed a grenade or two at Rory Stewart, the outsider who has become an unexpected social media star of the campaign.

Asked if the International Development Secretary was getting the biggest momentum from Sunday night’s TV debate, Mr Gove narrowed his eyes and said: “Rory got attention, but I would not necessarily say momentum.”

He went on: “I’m a great fan of Rory. I love him. He’s brilliant, a huge asset for the party. But ... we need to unify the party, and my worry might be that if we have two candidates who polarise — one candidate who says they won’t serve under the other, and the same the other way round — that we don’t have the conversation that we need to have in the final stages … between candidates who believe in Brexit and who are capable of delivering it.”

He hinted at a big promotion for Mr Stewart, however, saying he would like him “at the heart of my team”.

What of Mr Gove’s own ambitions if he fails to get the top job? He unveiled a brand new policy to tackle the knife crime besetting London by helping troubled children who lose out on education — a sign perhaps of his desire for a role at the heart of social policy, such as home secretary.

“One of the things I would do if I were prime minister is tackle knife crime at source,” he said.

“We know many of those who go on to get involved in gang culture are children who have grown up in care and experienced broken lives.”

He proposes fundamental changes to the way school heads expel unruly pupils which critics say is unfairly rewarded by better league table results.

“What we need to do ... is to make sure that when children are excluded or off-rolled, the school that excludes them are responsible for their education,” he said.

Mr Gove, a former reforming education secretary, said it was “a real worry” that large numbers are excluded but at the same time it was vital that heads could take action when children refuse to behave.

His solution is to “transform” pupil referral units for excluded children so that no school can simply wash its hands of a child.

“So you can’t simply exclude a disruptive kid and say ‘I am now going to improve my league table result’. You will be responsible for that child.”

In addition, Mr Gove said he would get top academy chains to create new provision for expelled children.

“We are going to make it a test of our principle academy chains and our strongest schools that they are responsible for guaranteeing high quality alternative provision,” he said.

“Let’s get children back into mainstream education and also provide them with the qualifications they need.”

In a third strand to the policy, Mr Gove promised to draw on his past work persuading football clubs including Spurs and Derby County to help struggling children.

He vowed: “I will say it will be a responsibility of every Premier League club to be involved in supporting a free school which guarantees effective support for children who have been excluded.”

Anne Longfield, the children’s commissioner for England, has said some of the 421 units for excluded pupils were “gang grooming grounds”.

Mr Gove, who was adopted at four months, said he might have become a criminal himself if he had not been so lucky. “If my life had taken a different course, who knows what would have happened,” he said.