Strikes over doctors’ contracts may have damaged the reputation of Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary

Jeremy Hunt is still considered “toxic” by sections of the public, senior Conservatives have warned.

The health secretary is widely considered the frontrunner to replace Damian Green as the Cabinet Office minister responsible for overseeing domestic policy committees. But he would not necessarily become first secretary of state, the title Theresa May revived after the election to designate Mr Green as her deputy.

Tory MPs increasingly admire Mr Hunt, 51, for his perseverance in a difficult brief. Having become health secretary in September 2012, he is six months away from ousting Norman Fowler as the longest-serving holder of the post. Mr Hunt, Mrs May and Philip Hammond, the chancellor, are the only ministers to have served in the cabinet without interruption since 2010.

But a