Tories' Election Boss Seeks to Ruin Chequers Plan, Make Johnson PM - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Political strategist Lynton Crosby who headed UK Tories' election campaign at the 2017 parliamentary vote is planning to undermine UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Chequers plan on Brexit and promote former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson into Downing Street, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

The Sunday Times said, citing a senior Tory, that Crosby was masterminding a nationwide campaign against May's Chequers plan, as he believed the prime minister's proposal would betray Brexit voters and eventually harm the Conservative Party at the next elections. Crosby's staff was reportedly in contact with the European Research Group, a prominent lobby for a hard Brexit.

The outlet suggested that the plot envisioned Johnson in Downing Street, as "there was no way [May] would survive" if her Brexit plan was ruined.

On July 6, the UK cabinet met at May's residence in Chequers and reached an agreement which marked a "substantial evolution" in the United Kingdom's position in the Brexit talks. The Chequers statement proposed the creation of a free trade area for goods and maintaining a "common rulebook" for all goods, including agricultural ones. May now urges Brussels to respond to the Chequers plan by amending its position to avoid a no-deal scenario.

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The cabinet's decision to relax Brexit conditions resulted in resignations of Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis in protest against the government's stance.

The United Kingdom is expected to leave the European Union in March 2019, but the negotiations are still in course, as the terms of Brexit are unclear.