Cameron allies accused of blaming Theresa May for Brexit

Sir Craig Oliver, Downing Street’s former director of communications, claims in a new book that Ms May rebuffed Mr Cameron on 13 occasion when he asked her to back Remain campaign

Iain Duncan Smith accused Sir Craig Oliver of trying to shift the blame for his own failures in the referendum campaign (EPA)

David Cameron’s allies have been accused of blaming Theresa May for the humiliating defeat in the EU referendum that cost him his job as Prime Minister.

A bitter blame game for the Brexit vote erupted after Sir Craig Oliver, Downing Street’s former director of communications, claimed in a book that Ms May rebuffed Mr Cameron on 13 occasions when he asked her to back the Remain campaign – and “came off the fence” only after a dressing down by the then Prime Minister.

Sir Craig, whose book Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story Of Brexit, is serialised in The Mail on Sunday, claimed the then-Home Secretary was dubbed “Submarine May” by No 10 because she always disappeared when it needed her.

A second book, All Out War, by Sunday Times political editor Tim Shipman, claims that Mr Cameron described Ms May as “lily-livered” after she advised him not to demand tough curbs on EU migration that might have helped him win the referendum. The criticisms of Ms May are explosive because of the implication that she failed to give Mr Cameron her full support in order to boost her prospects in a future Tory leadership election.

But Iain Duncan Smith, the former Cabinet minister and prominent Leave campaigner, accused Sir Craig of trying to “pin the blame” for his own failures running the Remain camp on Ms May. Describing Sir Craig’s account as “utter fiction”, Mr Duncan Smith said: “I sat in Cabinet and watched Theresa May as she argued for stronger control of migration from the EU, often against others who later ran the remain campaign. And she made a powerful speech to [the Tory] conference in 2015 calling for tougher controls.”

He added: “Craig Oliver’s [book] is one of a growing number of foolish attempts by ex-government Remainers who lost to shift responsibility for their failure. The grown-up thing for them to do, instead of carping, is to show some humility and get behind Theresa May as she seeks to get back control of migration with the EU as we leave.”

Sir Craig was knighted in Mr Cameron’s controversial resignation honours list and Mr Duncan Smith said: “In the past, a Knight of the realm who had failed in battle and lost would have quit the field and retired in humility to better understand their own failings.”

Sir Patrick McLoughlin, the Tory chairman, told Sky News: “Theresa May during the referendum campaign made her position very clear. This is a book that has been written after the event. You have got to have certain spicy things in a book to sell it. I don't blame Craig for doing that. At the time, Theresa was very much part of the Remain campaign.”

Responding to Mr Duncan Smith's comments, Sir Craig said: “Iain appears to have got the wrong end of the stick. I have not made the specific allegations he claims. The book is a sincere and honest attempt to explain what went wrong – and I take full responsibility for the mistakes made by the campaign.”

The inquest into the vote for Brexit by senior Tories could prove a headache for Ms May as she prepares to start withdrawal negotiations early next year. Ministers believe that allies of Mr Cameron want to “spread the blame” as they try to protect his legacy.

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