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Your support makes all the difference.The depth of antagonism between the Cabinet colleagues Ken Clarke and Theresa May was laid bare yesterday, as the Justice Secretary publicly accused Ms May of making "laughable and childlike" comments about the Human Rights Act.
In a ramping up of the saga over the Home Secretary's provocative conference speech on Tuesday, Mr Clarke gave an interview in which he said Ms May had enraged judges and broken the cabinet convention of collective responsibility by calling for the Human Rights Act to be scrapped.
In an interview with the Nottingham Evening Post, Mr Clarke reiterated in even stronger language his view that Ms May was wrong to claim that an immigrant had been allowed to stay in Britain because of a cat.
He said: "In my opinion she should really address her researchers and advisers very severely for assuring her that a complete nonsense example in her speech was true."
He added: "It's not only the judges that all get furious when the Home Secretary makes a parody of a court judgement: our commission who are helping us form our view on this are not going to be entertained by laughable, child-like examples being given."
He was later forced by Downing Street to apologise for his remarks and both ministers were called to a "routine" meeting at No 10 to discuss – officials said – trade. The pair were then pictured smiling as they left together.
The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, tried to play down the row, claiming Mr Clarke and Ms May were "on the same page". But there is mounting speculation that Mr Clarke, 71, will be moved out of his post in David Cameron's first ministerial reshuffle – most likely next year. It was significant that Downing Street briefed that he was backing Ms May over Mr Clarke.
Tim Montgomerie, founder of the ConservativeHome website, even called for Mr Clarke's dismissal "whatever the accuracy of Ms May's remarks".
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