Tory leadership contest: Sam Gyimah accuses male rivals of 'Trumpian machismo' over Brexit claims

'You've got chest-beating men saying they could do what Theresa May failed to do'

Conservative leadership candidate Sam Gyimah has accused male rivals of "Trumpian machismo" for claiming they can negotiate a better Brexit deal with Brussels than Theresa May.

As the Tory leadership race became increasingly bitter, the former minister, who is standing on a second referendum ticket, added those wanting to pursue a no-deal exit must gain public consent.

His remarks came as Dominic Raab, the ex-Brexit secretary, prompted outrage by suggesting he could temporarily suspend parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit if he succeeded Ms May.

Rival candidate Rory Stewart described the move as potentially "illegal" while the cabinet minister Amber Rudd added: "I think it's outrageous to consider proroguing Parliament. We are not Stuart kings."

Mr Gyimah told Bloomberg News a no-deal scenario would be "abject failure" of government, as he lashed out at the likes of Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab.

Both candidates were in the cabinet during the Brexit negotiations and have claimed in the contest they can broker a better deal with the EU 27 if they succeed Ms May as prime minister.

"You've got chest-beating men saying they could do what Theresa May failed to do," he said. "They're saying they could go and renegotiate in a Trump way and get a better deal."

"We're where we are not for want of trying. The British government has spent the last two and a half years negotiating with the EU. Most of these candidates who say they'll get a better deal have been in the cabinet during that time.

"They've approved or been involved in every step of the negotiation in Brexit. So it's hard to believe that now they can do what working with Theresa May they couldn't deliver."

The former universities minister, however, is unlikely to attract much support in the contest due to his pro-EU stance contrasting with the vehemently pro-Brexit stance of the Tory grassroots.

But he warned his colleagues in the race that it will be impossible to resolve Brexit without some form of public vote, including the "clearly sub-optimal" route of a general election.

He added: "So much of the Brexit criticism of the last few months has focused on Theresa May's personal failings. That has obscured the fact that there are some of these issues that cannot be renegotiated."

In a separate warning, the environment secretary Michael Gove, who is also running in the contest, said those promising to leave on 31 October "come what may" would risk forcing a general election before Brexit is secured.

"That would surely hand Downing Street to a Jeremy Corbyn government propped up by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP," he wrote in an article for the Daily Mail.

"That would mean Brexit was lost, the future of our Union at risk and the levers of power handed to a Marxist."