Sajid Javid admits he is not 'the best of buddies' with Theresa May
2 min read
Sajid Javid has admitted he is not “best of buddies” with Theresa May, after a number of high-profile disagreements between the pair.
The Home Secretary - often tipped as a future Tory leader - said it was not his “objective” to be close friends with the Prime Minister.
Downing Street insisted Mrs May has a “good relationship” with all her colleagues around the Cabinet table.
Mr Javid raised eyebrows at Westminster when he ditched the so-called ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy soon after being appointed to run the Home Office.
Mrs May had developed the policy herself to crack down on illegal immigration during her six years as Home Secretary.
The pair are also said to have clashed over the controversial tens of thousands net immigration target after Mr Javid appeared to disown it, and over allowing the US to hand former Isis members the death penalty.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the Bromsgrove MP said he had expected to be sacked from his previous job as Communities Secretary when Mrs May entered Downing Street in 2016.
The new Prime Minister had brutally disposed of George Osborne - who adopted Mr Javid as a protégé - and the minister had faced criticism earlier in the year for his handling of the steel crisis.
“We’re not the best of buddies. But then that’s not my objective,” Mr Javid told the paper.
“The Cabinet functions well when you’ve got good people around the table who take their jobs seriously and you’ve got a Prime Minister who gives it her all.”
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “I would say the PM has a good relationship with all of her Cabinet colleagues.”
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