Theresa May has warned her cabinet that none of them are “unsackable” following a series of leaks which revealed internal rows and power struggles.
The prime minister told LBC this afternoon that she had reminded her ministers that they had a “responsibility” to “deliver for the public”.
“The message was we need to ensure we can get on with that work that we need to do,” she said.
“The issue that was came up at the weekend was the issue of reported conversations that had taken place at a Cabinet meeting. Things that are said at those Cabinet meetings should not be reported out publicly.”
May warned: “There is no such thing as an unsackable minister.”
Parliament rises for the summer recess at the end of the week but questions about the prime minister’s authority over her party are likely to persist in the wake of her disastrous election result.
At prime minister’s questions today, Labour MPs mocked May for now being simply the “interim prime minister” amid rumours that Tory MPs are plotting to replace her.
Over the weekend a series of leaks targeting Chancellor Philip Hammond led to reports he said women could “even” become train drivers - a claim he denied.
And he is said to have told colleagues that public sector workers were overpaid compared with those in the private sector.
The chancellor has blamed the briefings against him on rival ministers opposed to his desire for a so-called soft Brexit.