BORIS Johnson has reiterated that Rishi Sunak’s job is secure, despite rising speculation over a summer Cabinet reshuffle.

However, the Prime Minister refused to promise the employment of any further ministers, claiming that voters are tired of Westminster gossip. Mr. Johnson expressed his trust in the Chancellor while speaking to journalists during his trade visit to India. It comes after months of speculation of a schism between the Government’s two most powerful figures, with allegations that the Treasury has been attempting to rein in Number 10’s spending plans.

When asked if Mr. Sunak will remain in his position for the Autumn Budget, the Prime Minister responded, “The answer to that is yes.”

Pressed to guarantee the posts of other ministers, he said: “Hang on, you’ve just reminded me of rule number one which I totally forgot about.

“Rule number one: don’t talk about politicians, talk about what politicians can do for the electorate! Let’s talk about what we’re doing and let’s not talk about who’s going to do it.”

Asked why he was prepared to guarantee Mr Sunak’s job but not those of other Cabinet colleagues, the Chancellor said: “Well there you go. Well, c’est la vie.

“Do you know, to repeat what I’ve just said, I am saying no more about personnel, the prosopographical approach is not right.

“This is about, it’s about what you’re doing for people, and that fundamentally why I think it’s right to get on this plane and why it’s right for the Government to get on with what it’s doing.”

In response to a question about whether Home Secretary Priti Patel’s disclosure of a proposal to fly some asylum seekers to Rwanda saved her job, the Prime Minister stated: “Oh for heaven’s sake. I’m sorry I broke my rule, you’re not going to get any more out of me about politicians or Westminster politics narrowly conceived. We’ve got to focus on the agenda for the country.”

According to a YouGov poll released yesterday, people are now more than twice as likely to say Mr Sunak is “incompetent” as they were a year ago.

Two in five (40%) voters questioned in the poll felt Sunak is inept, up 23% from last January (17 percent ).

While a similar amount (38%) believe the Chancellor is competent, this is a 16 percent decrease from last year (54 percent ).

A quarter (25%) of Conservative voters in 2019 believe Sunak is inept.

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