LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May slapped down her foreign minister on Tuesday after he demanded more funding for Britain’s public health service, telling him any discussion of money saved from Brexit should be kept private.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May walks through the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust's (WWT) grounds ahead of a speech to launch the government's environment plan at the London Wetland Centre in west London, Britain, January 11, 2018. REUTERS/Dan Kitwood/Pool/Files

Boris Johnson, whose promises that Britain’s departure from the European Union would boost funds for the National Health Service helped persuade many voters to back Brexit, raised his demands at a regular meeting of her top ministers after publicly calling for an extra 100 million pounds ($140 million) a week.

But the response was swift. May, trying to reassert her authority, said any money saved from Brexit would be spent on her priorities, including health, and that ministers should not air discussions outside her cabinet meetings.

“The prime minister and a large number of cabinet ministers made the point that cabinet discussions should take place in private,” her spokesman told reporters, describing the hour-long discussion on the NHS as “constructive”.

“As regards the future, and how the return of any EU contribution would be spent, the prime minister reminded cabinet that the government has consistently said that we will spend money on our priorities such as housing, schools and the NHS.”

May is under pressure over the state of the health service from the opposition Labour Party, which says healthcare is being put “recklessly” at risk by ministers unable to tackle bed shortages and thousands of cancelled operations.

Under fire from some lawmakers in her own party for lacking direction on some of the most pressing concerns in Britain, May is also trying to keep the warring factions of her cabinet of top ministers united as she negotiates Brexit.

But divisions over the so-called Brexit dividend - the funds that will be freed up when Britain stops paying into EU coffers - are deepening, with the ministers for health, education and defence and others bidding for more funds for their departments.

“DULL DULL DULL”

Shortly after Johnson made his demand, finance minister Philip Hammond fought back by saying he had already increased payments to the NHS. May has repeatedly said that funding is at record levels.

“Mr Johnson is the foreign secretary,” Hammond told reporters in Brussels.

“I gave the health secretary an extra 6 billion pounds at the recent budget and we’ll look at departmental allocations again at the spending review when that takes place.”

The row is yet another headache for May, whose weakness since losing her party’s majority at an election last June was underlined by a botched reshuffle of her top team of ministers earlier this month.

With the Conservatives increasingly concerned that Labour is setting the political agenda in Britain by focusing on health, housing and education, many members of the ruling party say it needs to show more clearly what they hold to be the benefits of Brexit.

Johnson and other Brexit supporters said during the campaign for the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union that Britain pays 350 million pounds a week to the bloc and promised to spend the money on the NHS instead if Britain voted to leave.

The figure was challenged by critics who said it did not rerlect Britain’s rebate and payments made into Britain by the EU.

Mindful of that promise, some Conservatives are calling for the government to increase funding.

Britian's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Ben Nelms/Files

“We have to deliver Brexit and deliver for the NHS,” Andrew Bridgen, a pro-Brexit lawmaker, told Reuters.

Others went further, saying May had to do a lot more to win over younger voters and challenge Labour’s leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has a loyal following in many cities.

“They must have really sound reasons to vote Conservative. We really need to get on with this #wherestheboldandbrave sofaritsdulldulldull,” Conservative lawmaker Nicholas Soames said on Twitter.</s>Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has suffered a humiliating rebuff in front of Theresa May's cabinet over a leaked report that suggested he would demand a post-Brexit dividend of £100m a week for the NHS.

The BBC reported that Johnson was hoping to use the cabinet meeting to kick off a debate about healthcare spending in the midst of winter pressures on the NHS. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had been due to give an update to cabinet members.

Johnson's bid to secure extra funding was supposedly driven by a fear that May was ready to abandon the NHS as an electoral cause, allowing Jeremy Corbyn to make it a key campaign point for Labour.

Following the cabinet meeting, May's official spokesman told the Guardian: "The prime minister and a large number of cabinet ministers made the point that cabinet discussions should take place in private.

"Regarding the future and how any return of EU contribution would be spent, the prime minister reminded cabinet that the government has consistently said we will spend money on our priorities such as housing, schools and the NHS."

The Telegraph reported that Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt were expected to back Johnson's plan.

He has long been considered a potential future Conservative leader and was widely considered a frontrunner for the job when David Cameron resigned after the EU referendum. In what has been a tumultuous 18 months for the prime minister, Johnson has been one of the leading options for alternative leadership, though he has not been without his own controversies.

Backbench Conservative MP Anna Soubry took to Twitter before the cabinet met to suggest that May should sack Johnson for longstanding incompetence and disloyalty. Soubry warned that if May did not act Johnson could "bring her down".

Chancellor Philip Hammond was the first to respond to the reports as he arrived at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.

"Mr Johnson is the foreign secretary," he said in a sly putdown. He noted that an extra £6bn had already been allocated to the NHS in the November budget.

Johnson was a key figure in the Vote Leave organisation campaigning to leave the EU in the runup to the 2016 referendum. Vote Leave claimed the UK was sending £350m to the EU every week, and that a leave vote would allow this money to be given to the NHS.

Their discredited claim was famously seen on the side of the Brexit Bus, with Johnson alongside.</s>Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson ‘got a complete bitch slap’ from Theresa May after stepping out of line to call for more NHS funding, apparently.

Yesterday Johnson was put back in his place by the PM twice, and by other ministers including Philip Hammond and Jeremy Hunt for his public plea for the health service.

One cabinet minister went as far to say that Boris ‘got a complete bitch slap’, twice by the PM, report ITV, before he was slapped down by other cabinet ministers.

Johnson’s plea, widely perceived as a power play, was publicly rubbished by the chancellor, who reminded him he was in fact the foreign secretary, and not the health secretary.

May has now warned ministers that Cabinet discussions should remain private after Johnson let it slip that he intended to use the weekly meeting to press for an additional £5 billion for the NHS after Brexit.

As ministers gathered in No 10, Johnson was pre-empted by the PM who told the meeting any ‘Brexit dividend’ would be allocated according to the Government’s priorities – including schools and housing as well as health.

In the hour-long discussion that followed, there appeared to be exasperation at Johnson’s latest intervention, with ministers backing May’s view that their talks should remain confidential.

Although there was frustration at the way Johnson broke ranks, it is understood there was some support around the Cabinet for his position.

The Foreign Secretary’s fellow Vote Leave campaigners Michael Gove and Chris Grayling supported his call for the NHS to benefit from the ‘Brexit dividend’, and Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt would also welcome extra funding.

Downing Street made clear that senior ministers had concerns about the privacy of Cabinet talks.

‘The Prime Minister and a large number of ministers made the point that Cabinet discussions should remain private,’ the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

The spokesman said that while most members had contributed to the discussion, no minister had mentioned a ‘specific number in relation to NHS funding’.

Former minister Anna Soubry warned May Johnson would bring her down unless she sacked him.

Ms Soubry, a prominent pro-EU campaigner, said the time had come for the Prime Minister to get rid of him.

He had shown ‘longstanding incompetence and disloyalty’ and unless May acts now ‘Boris will bring her down’, she said.</s>LONDON: Fresh tensions emerged in British Prime Minister Theresa May's cabinet today after she rebuked Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson for making public his demands on government spending after Brexit.

Johnson's allies briefed several newspapers that he would use the weekly cabinet meeting to press for money saved from Britain's withdrawal from the EU to be diverted to the state-run National Health Service (NHS).

The anonymous reports were viewed by some commentators as an attempt by the highly ambitious politician to raise his public profile -- and went down badly with May and other ministers at the meeting.

"Broadly the prime minister and a large number of cabinet ministers made the point that cabinet discussions should take place in private," May's official spokesman said.

It is not the first time that Johnson has publicly challenged the prime minister. Last year, he set out his own vision for Brexit just days before her own big speech on the subject.

Tensions among ministers are likely to rise further in the coming months as negotiations with the EU reach a critical point, ahead of Britain's departure in March 2019.

During the 2016 referendum, Brexit supporters such as Johnson claimed that 350 million pounds (USD 490 million) a week paid into the EU budget could be used for the NHS after Brexit.

The claim was widely condemned for being misleading, but it was also highly effective. Media reports in recent days suggested Johnson was pressing for 100 million pounds a week extra for the NHS.

May's spokesman declined to confirm that he had made such an intervention, saying that several ministers spoke but nobody raised a specific figure.

"The prime minister led the discussion on the fact that we will be able to spend this money (after Brexit) on domestic priorities, and a number of cabinet ministers made the same point," he said.

But he said May pointed out that schools and housing were also priorities.

Finance Minister Philip Hammond, who campaigned to stay in the EU, delivered his own rebuke to Johnson, telling reporters in Brussels: "Mr Johnson is the foreign secretary."

Britain has agreed to continue paying EU contributions until the end of the current budget cycle in 2020, almost two years after Brexit.</s>Theresa May has warned ministers that Cabinet discussions should remain private as Boris Johnson mounted a fresh push for extra spending for the NHS.

The Foreign Secretary let it be known that he intended to use the weekly meeting of the Cabinet to press for an additional £5 billion for the NHS after Britain leaves the EU.

But as ministers gathered in No 10, he was pre-empted by the Prime Minister who told the meeting any “Brexit dividend” would be allocated according to the Government’s priorities – including schools and housing as well as health.

In the hour-long discussion that followed, there appeared to be exasperation at Mr Johnson’s latest intervention, with ministers backing Mrs May’s view that their talks should stay confidential.

But despite frustration at the way Mr Johnson’s intentions became public knowledge, it is understood there was some support around the Cabinet for his position.

The Foreign Secretary’s fellow Vote Leave campaigners Michael Gove and Chris Grayling supported his call for the NHS to benefit from the “Brexit dividend”, and Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt would also welcome extra funding.

Downing Street made clear that senior ministers had concerns about the privacy of Cabinet talks.

“The Prime Minister and a large number of ministers made the point that Cabinet discussions should remain private,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

The spokesman said that while most members had contributed to the discussion, no minister had mentioned a “specific number in relation to NHS funding”.

Earlier, Mr Johnson’s intervention drew a withering rebuke from Chancellor Philip Hammond who made clear the NHS was not his department.

“Mr Johnson is the Foreign Secretary,” he told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.

“I gave the Health Secretary an extra £6 billion at the recent Budget and we will look at departmental allocations again at the spending review when that takes place.”

There was an angry response also from some Tory MPs, with former minister Anna Soubry warning Mrs May he would bring her down unless she sacked him.

The row broke out amid signs of growing frustration among some backbenchers at the Government’s performance prompting renewed speculation that the Foreign Secretary was “on manoeuvres”.

Last week he again drew attention to his controversial claim during the EU referendum that leaving the bloc would release an additional £350 million a week to spend on the NHS, claiming the figure was actually an underestimate.

Ms Soubry, a prominent pro-EU campaigner, said the time had come for the Prime Minister to get rid of him.

He had shown “longstanding incompetence and disloyalty” and unless Mrs May acts now “Boris will bring her down”, she said.

Mrs May’s former chief of staff Nick Timothy hit out at Mr Johnson.

“Breaching collective responsibility and leaking Cabinet discussions are bad enough but part of political life,” he said.

“But pre-briefing your disagreement with Government policy ahead of Cabinet?”

Justice Minister Phillip Lee said “now was not the time” for such a debate, adding: “I’m getting on with my own job – as should others.”

Speculation that Mr Johnson was attempting to engineer a row in order to resign or be sacked over a matter of principle were dismissed as “utter nonsense” by his allies.</s>Boris Johnson is preparing to cause the Conservatives another Brexit headache by demanding that Theresa May makes changes to NHS funding.

The outspoken foreign secretary will risk another giant Tory row by once again, very publicly, undermining the prime minister. Johnson will demand that May sanctions £100 million ($140 million) a week for the NHS after Brexit – or he believes she will not beat Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn at the next election.

Despite his portfolio being focused on international relations, the foreign secretary has a vested interest in the NHS after notoriously posing beside a controversial Brexit battle bus.

On the side of the Vote Leave bus was a pledge to claw back £350 million ($488 million) a week spent in Brussels, and hand it to the NHS. However, this was a miscalculation and the funds could not be dedicated solely to the health service, angered Remainers argued.

It also did not take account of cash spent in the UK by Brussels. The UK Statistics Authority branded the figure "a clear misuse of official statistics." The figure has been used as a rebuke to Johnson and the supposed folly of Brexit ever since.

Now, Johnson will say the pledge must be made reality as he will suggest the government must spend £5.2 billion ($7.3 billion) a year on the underfunded service. What he will call the "Brexit dividend" will be raised in cabinet.

An ally of Mr Johnson told The Mirror: "Boris believes that if the Tories are going to beat Corbyn at the next election they must make the NHS a top priority and deliver new funding. The cabinet will have to act and the sooner, the better."

Labour recently reported Johnson to the UK Statistics Authority over suggestions he is making false promises over what can be delivered financially post Brexit, using “misleading” figures.

Corbyn’s opposition has its own pledge to throw £5 billion ($7 billion) into the NHS if it gets into power – a move which could attract huge support.

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth told MPs: "The toxic privatisation agenda in our NHS has gone too far. Billions of pounds has flowed out of the NHS into private sector hands, leaving a poorer service for patients."

The move by Johnson to tackle May comes months after he had his own Brexit blueprint printed in the Daily Telegraph. Britain was braced for a hostile takedown of the Tory leadership but May managed to hold on and Boris, denounced by nominal ally Michael Gove, backed off.

However, the latest posturing by Johnson could be seen as yet another example of him lining up to lead the divided party.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!</s>Don't be fooled by the clown prince Boris Johnson.

The Foreign Secretary’s demand for extra cash for the NHS does not spring from a genuine concern for the health service.

When Mayor of London for eight years he barely mentioned the NHS.

Between 2007 and 2015 he wrote more than 300 articles for the Telegraph only one of which focused on health.

With Boris everything is about Boris.

Not about the NHS but about saving his face after campaigning for Brexit on the bogus promise of an extra £350million a week for the health service.

He also cares deeply, passionately and ruthlessly about furthering the career of Boris Johnson.

It is no accident that he has chosen to go on th offensive at a moment of growing dissatisfaction in the Tory ranks at the PM’s lack of vision.

His synthetic concern for the NHS has allowed him to plant his standard on the ground vacated by a weak Theresa May.

Johnson will not care that this act of aggression has provoked Cabinet divisions and Tory infighting as long as he emerges from the fray having burnished his leadership credentials.

Many he believe his angling for the sack so he is pole position to swipe May’s crown when she finally stumbles.

How disappointing it must be to do everything you possibly can to get fired only to discover the Prime Minister is so feeble she is incapable of dismissing you.</s>Boris Johnson's planned ambush of Prime Minister Theresa May over diverting £100m of Brexit dividends to the NHS during Cabinet has failed.

Not only did the foreign secretary not have the opportunity to press for a specific sum to be deployed into the pressured health service, he was also reminded that he should not be discussing what is talked about in Cabinet meetings.

A government spokesman this afternoon said: "The Prime Minister, and a large number of Cabinet ministers, made the point that Cabinet discussions should take place in private."

He added that during the hour-long conversation about the NHS this morning, "no ministers discussed specific figures in relation to NHS spend". While Johnson's allies had been briefing that he would lead an ambush against the Prime Minister, it was May who introduced the topic and health secretary Jeremy Hunt who led the conversation, which was characterised as "constructive".

May did reiterate her commitment to deploy any new funds unlocked by Brexit to the three priorities - housing, schools and the NHS - as well as any other issues that may become pressing in the meantime. She also pointed to the £6bn additional funding announced "just a few weeks ago" during the Budget, the spokesman added.

Earlier in the day, chancellor Philip Hammond had made clear his views on the matter by responding to a question about Johnson's intervention by saying: "Mr Johnson is the foreign secretary.

"I gave the health secretary [Jeremy Hunt] an extra £6bn at the recent budget and we will look at departmental allocations again at the spending review when that takes place."

Hammond did not attend Cabinet as he is in Europe attending a regular meeting of finance ministers.</s>Boris Johnson is yet again causing Conservative party waves as rumors spread he will launch a leadership bid against British Prime Minister Theresa May.

For the third time, the foreign secretary is believed to be plotting to quit the cabinet, this time over a row about Brexit and the National Health Service (NHS).

Brazen Boris reportedly hopes to challenge the PM and demand a £5 billion (US$7 billion) cash injection for the health service – something once pledged on a Brexit “battle bus.”

Johnson wants £100 million a week more for the health service when the country divorces the European Union.

The promise he made during the referendum has stuck with Boris, especially since it was proven to be unrealistic and those seen with the slogan-clad vehicle have since been accused of intentionally misleading.

One source revealed to the Sun that Johnson was taken down by eight ministers when he tried to tackle May.

“He got a proper b****-slapping,” the source said.

Liam Fox allegedly attacked the foreign secretary for making internal rows public, while Home Secretary Amber Rudd delivered the mother of all digs when she said top Tories should be able to trust on another, adding: “I’m talking to you, foreign secretary.”

Philip Hammond took a shot at Johnson for attempting to meddle in the NHS.

“Well, Mr. Johnson is the foreign secretary,” the UK chancellor told reporters in Brussels. “I gave the health secretary [Jeremy Hunt] an extra £6 billion in the recent budget and we will look at departmental allocations again at the spending review when that takes place.”

Insiders in the Tory Party now believe Johnson will attempt to mobilize support against the PM and will finally launch the expected leadership bid to bring about the kind of Brexit he wants. In 2017, he had his own blueprint for Britain’s exit printed in the Daily Telegraph, causing a furor in the party.

Allies said it is “nonsense” he would leave soon.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt also distanced himself from Johnson’s demand late yesterday, even mocking his audacious attempt to become involved in his colleague’s portfolio. Hunt was challenged about the money – and where it could come from.

“You have to ask the foreign secretary,” he replied.</s>Boris Johnson's 'Brexit dividend' plan spectacularly backfired this morning as Theresa May slapped him down for conducting Cabinet rows in public.

One minister described the admonishment as "a complete b***h slap".

The Foreign Secretary faced anger after allies briefed over the weekend that he would confront Mrs May face-to-face at today's Cabinet meeting with his demand for £100 million a week for the NHS after Brexit.

But it's understood that by the time it was his turn to speak at the meeting, he'd faced a backlash from fellow ministers for the story being briefed to the media over the weekend.

Downing Street say no specific figures were mentioned in at the meeting.

He's already faced pushback from Philip Hammond for overstepping his brief.

And now the Prime Minister and other cabinet members have piled in to criticise the manoeuvre.

He was reportedly ticked off by the PM twice during the meeting, and again by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

The PM’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister and a large number of Cabinet Ministers made the point that Cabinet discussions should take place in private.”

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: “Ministers were told the health service had been place under significant pressure by the worst flu outbreak for a number of years.

“In the first week of 2018, flu admissions were approaching double that seen in the highest week seen in 2010-11 which was the time of the swine flu epidemic.”

During an hour-long discussion on the NHS, the PM said that at November's Budget, the Government announced £6billion extra funding for the NHS.

She told Cabinet the injection “reflects the fact that the NHS is one of the Government's top priorities”.

Her spokesman went on: “As regards, the future, and how any return of the EU contribution would be spent, the PM reminded Cabinet that the Government has consistently said that we will send on our priorities as as housing, schools and the NHS.

“There will also be other calls upon that money but we will discuss those priorities at that time.”

He added: “There was then a wide ranging discussion by the Cabinet in which most members spoke.”

The discussion was “good, constructive”, added the spokesman.

Despite claims the Foreign Secretary would call for another £100million a week for the NHS, “no ministers discussed any specific number in relation to NHS funding”, said the PM's spokesman.

“The Brexit dividends, the Prime Minister led the discussion on the fact that we will be able to spend this money on domestic priorities and a number of Cabinet Ministers made the same point”.

Earlier, Chancellor Philip Hammond said: "Mr Johnson is the Foreign Secretary.

"I gave the health secretary an extra £6bn at the recent budget and we will look at departmental allocations again at the spending review when that takes place."

Tory backbencher Anna Soubry also piled in to criticise Mr Johnson on Twitter.

"PM should have sacked Boris Johnson for longstanding incompetence & disloyalty," she wrote. "Unless [Theresa May] acts now Boris will bring her down."

She added: "Any decent [Foreign Secretary] would have stepped down re" Nazanin Zaghari -Ratcliffe. But then any decent For Sec wouldn’t have behaved as Boris did"

Theresa May's former chief of staff Nick Timothy also hit out at Johnson.

"Breaching collective responsibility and leaking Cabinet discussions are bad enough but part of political life," he said.

"But pre-briefing your disagreement with Government policy ahead of Cabinet?"

Mr Johnson first resurrected his spurious promise last week as he defended his claim Britain will take back control of £350million a week in total.

The UK Statistics Authority had branded that figure - emblazoned on the side of Brexit campaign Vote Leave's battle bus - "a clear misuse of official statistics" because it includes money not sent to Brussels at all and does not count EU funding in the UK.

Yet Mr Johnson claimed it was now even higher and will rise to £438million.

Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer reported him to the statistics watchdog and is awaiting a reply.

Jeremy Hunt backed Boris Johnson's call for NHS cash - but distanced himself from the claim it could be £100million a week.

The Health Secretary told the Commons Health Committee: "I don’t think any Health Secretary is ever going to not support potential extra resources for his or her department.

"Obviously I can’t tell you about the precise contents of a Cabinet discussion."

He added: "There was a Brexit debate and there was an NHS debate and just occasionally those two debates come together."

But asked where the so-called £100million from Brexit will actually come from, he replied: "I think that’s a question you have to ask the Foreign Secretary."

Meanwhile Labour MPs were briefed on the party's own plans for emergency Budget to pump £5billion into the NHS.

The demand - revealed by the Sunday Mirror - was raised at tonight's meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party ahead of the party leader attending an NHS rally on Thursday.
Theresa May criticizes Boris Johnson for airing National Health Service funding concerns outside private U.K. Cabinet meetings.