Theresa May’s deputy David Lidington has ruled himself out of replacing her as PM despite being named as a possible successor in an alleged cabinet coup.
The Sunday Times reported that 11 cabinet ministers had told the paper they wanted Mrs May to make way for someone else and that the Mr Lidington was in line to take over the helm.
However he told reporters in his Aylesbury constituency: "I don't think that I've any wish to take over from the PM (who) I think is doing a fantastic job.
"I tell you this: one thing that working closely with the Prime Minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.
"I have absolute admiration for the way she is going about it."
Mr Lidington also said he was "not attracted by" nor had time for plotting.
"I've learnt to take rumours in the papers with a bit of a pinch of salt over the years," he added.
It came as amid rumours Mrs May could be forced to resign within days amid furious backlash over her handling of Brexit, with a number of Tory MPs stating that her time as Prime Minister was up.
However Chancellor Philip Hammond told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday MPs involved in any attempt to topple the PM were "self-indulgent”.
He said replacing Mrs May would not "solve the problem", despite heavy criticism of her handling of the Brexit process and calls from members of her party to stand aside.
"To be talking about changing the players on the board frankly is self-indulgent at this time," Mr Hammond said.
And former Tory leader and pro-Brexit MP Iain Duncan Smith echoed Mr Hammond as he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show the alleged plotters were “appalling”.
He said: “I think that's appalling, I think they should be censured and some of them should be sacked."
"I think round the country, in the Conservative Party, and outside the Conservative Party there will be real disgust at the behaviour of some of our cabinet ministers who are not fit for their positions if they behave like this," he added.
"They should be apologising and they should shut up for God's sake."
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Mrs May is understood to be meeting Mr Lidington and prominent Brexiteers at her country residence, Chequers, on Sunday afternoon, before convening a meeting of the Cabinet on Monday morning.
Among those reportedly attending talks in Buckinghamshire are Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay, along with chief whip Julian Smith and Eurosceptics Mr Duncan Smith, Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dominic Raab.
