The Foreign Secretary triggered fury as he said he wanted to deliver a Brexit for everyone, not just the 52 per cent who backed leaving the EU. In a Twitter Q&A on Tuesday night, he said: “Deliver a Brexit that works for the 48 per cent not just the 52 per cent – a positive open and internationalist Brexit. Great Britain, not Little England.” But Mr Rees-Mogg was disgusted by the comments, branding them “abusive” and indicative of a “metropolitan elite” that diminishes voters.

Speaking on his LBC radio show on Wednesday night, he explained: “Jeremy Hunt’s response of saying that we’re all just ‘Little Englanders’ I think doesn’t understand what is going on with Brexit.

“It doesn’t understand why people voted to leave.

“Many of whom are, in fact, internationalist and feel that the narrow European focus is the wrong one, is one that is backwards-looking, is looking at a system that worked in the ‘60s and ‘70s but doesn’t work in the 21st century.

“And it’s also slightly abusive of voters.

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“It’s dismissive whereas what voters want is to be respected.

“And it’s part of the problem with the metropolitan elite looking down at voters in the rest of the country who didn’t do what they were expected to do like good little voters.

“They actually voted for independence, for freedom and for their own democracy by expressing a view that they wanted to leave the EU.”

Mr Rees-Mogg confirmed: “I very strongly back Boris.

“I think he’s the right answer and the promise he made yesterday that he made absolutely unequivocally – no ifs or buts – we will leave on October 31, seems to me to be really important.”

Boris Johnson has moved to seize the initiative in the Tory leadership race, pledging to deliver an Australian-style points-based immigration system if he becomes prime minister.

The frontrunner to succeed Theresa May said he wanted to rebuild the public’s faith in the UK’s immigration system and to be “tougher on those who abuse our hospitality”.

“We will restore democratic control of immigration policy after we leave the EU,” he said.

Meanwhile, his rival for the Tory crown, Jeremy Hunt, has promised to write off tuition fee debt for young entrepreneurs who start up new businesses and take on staff.

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He also signalled his support for maintaining free television licences for the over-75s following the controversial decision by the BBC to scrap them.

Appearing at the Tories’ digital leadership hustings on Wednesday, Mr Johnson, who has said he will take Britain out of the EU by October 31 “do or die”, insisted the chances of a no-deal Brexit were “a million-to-one against”.

However, he left open the option of suspending Parliament if MPs tried to block a no-deal break.

While he said he was “not attracted” to the idea, he said it was essential that MPs finally delivered on the result of the 2016 EU referendum.

“I am not attracted to archaic devices like proroguing,” he said.

“Let’s get this thing done as a proud representative democracy that asked the people of this country a question, that received a very clear answer, that promised faithfully to put that answer into effect and now we have got to do it.”

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