Theresa May and 'large number' of Cabinet ministers rebuke Boris Johnson for publicly demanding extra £100m per week for NHS

Theresa May and a “large number” of Cabinet ministers have rebuked Boris Johnson for making public demands for an extra £100million a week for the NHS.

But the Prime Minister has insisted that the health service would be a priority for any “Brexit dividend” after Britain leaves the European Union.

It came after Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, reprimanded Mr Johnson as he suggested it was not the Foreign Secretary’s place to ask for £5billion extra per year for the NHS. 

Speaking after a meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday morning, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The PM said that at the Budget the Government announced £6billion additional funding for the NHS.

“She said that this priority at the Budget reflects the fact the NHS is one of the Government’s top priorities.

“As regards to the future in how any return of the EU contribution will be spent, the PM reminded Cabinet that the Government has consistently said we will spend money on our priorities such as housing, schools and the NHS.

“There will also be other calls on that money. We will discuss those priorities at that time.”

Downing Street said that “no ministers discussed any specific number in relation to NHS funding” during an hour-long discussion about the NHS at Tuesday’s.

But the spokesman added: “The Brexit dividend - the PM led the discussion on the fact we will be able to spend this money on domestic priorities.

“The Prime Minister and a large number of Cabinet ministers made the point that Cabinet discussions should take place in private.”

Mr Johnson’s intention to raise the funding issue was widely reported ahead of Cabinet.

Speaking before the meeting, Mr Hammond suggested Mr Johnson was wrong to be publicly demanding more cash for the health service.

Arriving at a summit in Brussels on Tuesday, Mr Hammond pointedly said that "Mr Johnson is the Foreign Secretary" after he was asked whether he supported the NHS funding call.

The Chancellor also highlighted the fact that he had approved extra funding for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt at the Budget in November.

He said: "I gave the Health Secretary an extra £6billion at the recent Budget and we will look at departmental allocations again at the spending review when that takes place.”

Mr Hammond used his autumn Budget to commit £2.8billion extra to the NHS in England along with £3.5billion of capital funding.

Mr Johnson campaigned during the EU referendum to use the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union to give the health service a major funding boost.

There are concerns on the Tory benches that the Government must act to prioritise the NHS amid fears that Mrs May has already conceded the issue to Labour.

A YouGov poll recently suggested that the NHS is the single biggest issue for Tory voters with seven in 10 citing is as a serious concern.

One ally of Mr Johnson told the Telegraph that the NHS is “top of swing voter concerns” and that the Cabinet “will have to act and the sooner the better”.

But Nick Timothy, Mrs May's former chief of staff, appeared to take aim at Mr Johnson, tweeting: "Breaching collective responsibility and leaking cabinet discussions are bad enough but part of political life.

"But pre-briefing your disagreement with government policy ahead of cabinet?"

The Foreign Secretary made clear last week he thinks the health service should be "at the very top of the list" when the UK "takes back control" of money which would have been sent to Brussels as a member.

The row over NHS funding came after a number of Tory MPs publicly complained about a perceived lack of boldness from Mrs May's Government.

Sir Nicholas Soames was the latest Tory backbencher to voice unease about the style of the Prime Minister's administration, after former minister Nick Boles warned of "timidity and lack of ambition".

Using one of the extended hashtags which have become his social media trademark, Sir Nicholas asked: "Where's the bold and brave? So far, it's dull, dull, dull."

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