without a deal if Brussels
refuses to compromise, has
been building up a ‘war chest’ for
an autumn offensive against the
Government – to pay the
wages of staff.
After quitting the Cabinet in
July shortly before Mr Johnson
entered No 10, he told friends that
he intended to join forces with
more than two dozen pro-Remain
Tory MPs, including fellow
Ministers, to mount a ‘guerrilla
war’ from the backbenches
against any attempt by MrJohnson to leave the EU without a
deal on October 31. Mr Marks,
whose last donation to the party
was in October 2018, met Mr
Hammond in Le Caprice on
Tuesday – just hours before the
Prime Minister made his
bombshell announcement that he
was proroguing Parliament.
Mr Marks started donating to the
party after selling his Altrincham-
based traffic information business
ITIS Holdings to an American
firm in a £37 million deal in 2011.
He said of the lunch: ‘I was
meeting Philip 100 per cent
because he is a friend and for
no other reason.’
Asked if he supported No
Deal, he declined to comment,
other than to say: ‘I am a
party treasurer.’September 1 • 2019 The Mail on Sunday^13
Hammond stokes sacked aide row
talks with us. Dom has made clear
to us that our focus has to be on
delivering on the public’s priorities
on things like Brexit, education,
violent crime, not Westminster
bubble crap which only a couple of
hundred people who all work in the
same postcode care about.
‘The reason he’s been successful is
because he knows how to build
teams that do that.
‘Nobody knows what’s going to
happen this week but as Dom
said, the simple question for Tory
MPs is whether they want to deliver
on the result of the referendum
or put Corbyn in No 10 and turn
the country into an international
laughing stock.’
Mr Javid is expected to use the
Spending Review on Wednesday to
boost Britain’s position as a ‘key
international player and great trad-
ing nation’, with millions of pounds
extra pledged to enhance the UK’s
military and diplomatic ties.
The review is likely to include a
boost to the overall defence budget
‘to ensure the UK’s world-class
Armed Forces can continue to be
a force for good around the
world’, according to a Treasury
source, and a pledge of £46 million
for the 2022 Commonwealth Games
in Birmingham.
Mr Javid said: ‘Britain has thrived
as an open, free-trading nation.
We shouldn’t be ashamed of being
proud of our place in the world – we
are, and will remain, a great nation
with fantastic assets.’RESCUED: The Jack Russell pupis clearly a rising star. The spend-
ing round was completed in three
days – it normally takes three
weeks. This was only because of
the ability of No 10 and No 11 to
work together.’
Mr Javid repeatedly refused to
discuss Ms Khan’s sacking during
an interview yesterday and said
that he had a fantastic relationship
with the Prime Minister.
He told the BBC that suggestions
that Downing Street was not allow-ing him enough authority over the
Treasury was ‘a picture painted by
the Government’s opponents’.
Mr Javid added: ‘I’m not going to
discuss any personnel issues, it
wouldn’t be appropriate. The rela-
tionship is fantastic with the Prime
Minister. Before he was Prime Min-
ister, he is someone I got on with
incredibly well. It’s a real privilege
to work with him, to work closely
so well on people’s priorities.’
Asked about his relationship
with Mr Cummings, Mr Javid
replied: ‘I’m not going to discuss
personnel relationships. The Prime
Minister is my boss and we worktogether, along with other Cabinet
colleagues, to deliver, so I am not
here to talk about particular indi-
viduals that are advisers in Down-
ing Street.’
A No 10 source said: ‘Focus groups
have told us that the public don’t
care about parliamentary process.
The Government will need to cut
through and give the public a very
simple choice – chaos and uncer-
tainty with Labour, or in 62 days,
delivering Brexit and moving on.
Brussels now know we aren’t bluff-
ing – and in mid-September the EU
will know they need to have serious‘It’s damaged Sonia’s
career – she’s in pieces’
PAUL ELLISRemainer Phil
... and a pricey
lunchtime plot
at Le Caprice
By Glen Owen
POLITICAL EDITORPRIVATE: Le Caprice, where Hammond lunched with Tory donor Stuart MarksIT HAS been a discreet haunt
of Royals and rock stars for
more than 35 years, serving a
‘confident and urbane clientele’.
But last week, Le Caprice
restaurant in London’s Mayfair
was at the centre of political
intrigue when Philip Hammond
chose to lunch there with powerful
Tory donor Stuart Marks. It
came as the former Chancellor
prepares to mount a last-ditch bid
to derail Boris Johnson’s Brexit.
Le Caprice offers dishes such
as tuna ceviche, chargrilled
octopus, Dorset crab and – on the
day Mr Hammond was dining – a
special of roast grouse.
Diners at lunchtime would
struggle to pay less than £80 a
head for a meal with wine.
Famous for its corner table – in
the 1980s the Princess of Wales
had first call on it, with Jeffrey
Archer second (he ate his first
meal there after he left prison in
2003) – Le Caprice has a long list
of celebrity regulars who have
included Princess Margaret and
Mick Jagger.
Mr Hammond did not dine in the
corner table with entrepreneur
Mr Marks, who has given more
than £160,000 to the Conservatives
since 2013. However, the pair
were given a discreet alcove
away from prying eyes.
The meeting came as allies of
Mr Johnson accused the former
Chancellor of touring the City to
raise money for his campaign
against No Deal. One ally of the
PM has described it as ‘passing
round a begging bowl to fund
Brexit sabotage’.
They claim that Mr Hammond,
who has vowed to fight Mr
Johnson’s move to suspend
Parliament and leave the EU‘A discreet alcove away
from prying eyes’