George Osborne: My comments about putting Theresa May in a freezer were 'in jest’
2 min read
George Osborne has insisted his comments about wanting the Prime Minister “chopped up in bags" in his freezer were said "in jest".
In an apparent attempt to apologise for the attack, Mr Osborne used an editorial in the Evening Standard to say that “strong differences of opinion do not need intemperate language”.
Mr Osborne has come under sustained fire for the comment, which he was said to have made in private conversations with friends.
Tory MP Nadine Dorries said the comment was “macabre and worrying” and called for the former Chancellor to be banned from nexst month's Conservative conference.
In the last few months, Mr Osborne has been a prominent critic of Mrs May and has regularly used the pages of his newspaper to attack her.
He also described the Prime Minister as “a dead woman walking” in the wake of the general election, and has likened her premiership to a “second-rate horror movie”.
Despite the running feud, Mrs May gave an interview to the Evening Standard today in which she renewed her calls for a crackdown on modern slavery.
The editorial read: “In the battles over Brexit, and over the future direction of the Conservative Party, some harsh words have been said about the Prime Minister.
“Her advisers created a poisonous atmosphere among senior Tories. But they are now gone, and a much more consensual team has recently replaced them in Downing Street.
“Mrs May’s critics in her party will want to respond in kind.
“We can reflect that strong differences of opinion do not need intemperate language, even when said in jest. Whatever the future holds for her leadership, today’s interview reminds us of Mrs May’s qualities."
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