Stick with Howard or risk split, says Letwin

Tory MPs were today told they faced bitter new divisions if they dump leader Michael Howard.

The warning came from shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin after a weekend of bitter sniping from grandees and infighting in the shadow cabinet.

"What Michael Howard has done for the Conservative Party is give us a huge new sense of working together," Mr Letwin said. "He has also given us a new sense of strategy."

Mr Letwin spoke out as Tories questioned the Opposition Leader's future after a poll showed the Conservatives level-pegging with the Liberal Democrats.

Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind - seen as a leadership contender after the next election - said poor by-election results had led people to "mutter".

Lord Tebbit called for the party to move to a Rightwing agenda. That was dismissed as "suicidal" by former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine.

The arguments overshadowed an attempt by Mr Letwin to turn the heat on the Government's pledges to slash ?21 billion in waste, which he branded a myth.