Work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd was said to be seeking to further her leadership ambitions

A vicious cabinet war erupted last night over a plot by senior ministers to delay Brexit, as Theresa May looked certain to shelve plans for a Commons vote on her deal this week.

Five cabinet colleagues rounded on Amber Rudd, calling for her to be sacked after she publicly threatened to defy the prime minister by voting to delay article 50. The work and pensions secretary was singled out by cabinet colleagues as the ringleader of a cross-party campaign to stop Brexit. She was accused of seeking to further her own leadership ambitions.

The party was plunged into fresh bloodletting after May was warned she could be forced to quit within weeks should her Brexit deal go through. Rudd, with David Gauke, the justice secretary,