Amber Rudd backs Jeremy Hunt to be the next Prime Minister — calling him a ‘winner’

AMBER RUDD formally threw her weight behind Jeremy Hunt’s bid for No.10 - saying he was a “winner”.

The Work and Pensions Secretary - who has incensed Brexiteers over the EU divorce - claimed he was the best man to get the deal done later this year.

In a dig at Boris Johnson, but also a thinly veiled swipe at Theresa May, Ms Rudd tweeted: “These are serious times and we need a statesman Brussels will listen to, not more bluster.”

“Jeremy is a winner with a track record of success in business and in government.”

Ms Rudd was seen as a key endorsement - given her leadership of the ‘One Nation’ group of Tories.

She has insisted candidates rule out a No Deal - something the Foreign Secretary has branded “political suicide”.

But it came as Mr Hunt sparked anger by reiterating he would like to see the abortion limit halved from 24 to 12 weeks. Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine labelled them “alarming”.

Insiders speculated Mr Hunt had offered Ms Rudd a senior Cabinet position to secure her backing.

He is also expected to get the backing of super-soft Brexit backers Greg Clark and Chancellor Philip Hammond.

The Sun earlier this month revealed “Team Boris” had given up on winning her support.

Tories claimed a Boris-Amber “Bamber” combination could have been a dream team.