Theresa May is a "hopeless" leader of a "weak" government and Britain would be better off with an administration like Tony Blair's in the early years, a major Tory donor has said.

Lord Harris of Peckham said the Prime Minister is "no Thatcher" and criticised her "shell-shocked" general election performance, in which the Tories disastrously lost their House of Commons majority from a position of apparent strength.

In a scathing interview, Lord Harris suggested Mrs May's record as home secretary was not "that great", described her attacks on aspects of capitalism and big business as "stupid", and warned she was making a "mistake" by criticising excessive pay.

The peer's intervention comes with the PM continuing to face speculation about her future as Tory leader and with her party split on the biggest political issue of the day - Brexit.