A Tory leadership candidate has sparked fury with an "illegal" plot to ram through No Deal Brexit – by SHUTTING the House of Commons.

A huge row erupted after Dominic Raab refused to rule out proroguing Parliament, if he becomes Prime Minister, to prevent MPs voting against No Deal on October 31.

Mr Raab, a hard Brexiteer, said he would be prepared to take the drastic move at a behind-closed-doors hustings last night.

But pro-EU Cabinet minister Amber Rudd raged: "It's outrageous to consider proroguing Parliament.

"We are not Stuart kings."

And pro-EU leadership rival Rory Stewart said the move would be "illegal" adding: "It would be unconstitutional. It would be undemocratic. And it wouldn't work."

Today in the Commons, Speaker John Bercow insisted he would not allow MPs to be sidelined.

"Parliament will not be evacuated from the centre stage of the decision-making process on this important matter," he said. "That's simply not going to happen."

Leadership rival Matt Hancock added: "Proroguing Parliament undermines parliamentary democracy and risks a general election. I rule it out and call on all candidates to do the same."

And former Commons Speaker Betty Boothroyd warned Dominic Raab he "won't survive five minutes".

She said: "If you even try to impose your No Deal Brexit on us by cancelling Parliamentary proceedings, you won’t survive as Prime Minister for five minutes.

"You will be booted out of office and you are not worthy of your seat in Parliament which should be reserved for those who deserve the title of democrats.”

The row comes as the Tory leadership contest turned increasingly bitter with the 11 candidates trading insults.

Mr Raab turned, cold-eyed, to pro-EU Chancellor Philip Hammond just feet away from him at last night's hustings and said Brits were sick of Brexit 'Project Fear'.

Others said they could negotiate a better Brexit deal than Theresa May – with Michael Gove saying he'd be prepared to delay Brexit to get it through.

But anti-Brexit rival Sam Gyimah hit back, branding those who thought they were better than Mrs May "chest-beating men" driven by "Trumpian machismo".

Meanwhile Mr Gove hit out at his arch-rival Boris Johnson by telling MPs they needed someone who is "serious about the job at hand".

Yet Brexiteer outrider Esther McVey attacked Mr Gove – a former Education Secretary who went to war with teachers – by saying the Tories must "listen" to school staff.

And yesterday she vowed to sack any Remainers in the Cabinet in a purge to ensure Brexit happens on time.

Finally Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, sparked fury within Labour by branding Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite.

He told MPs: “The Conservative party has got to get this right.

“If we don’t, we could end up with the first anti-semitic leader of a Western nation since the Second World War.”

'Proroguing' is the formal word used for ending the Parliamentary session and starting a new one.

MPs have made clear they will do everything in their power to block No Deal, with a vast majority against it.

So hardline Brexiteers hope the next Prime Minister will hijack the power to prevent the House of Commons sitting in the crucial days before October 31.

If Parliament is unable to enforce legal action against crashing out the EU, it would happen by default.

Leadership rival Rory Stewart was scathing about the bid.

The Cabinet minister told ITV's Peston: "All this talk about no-deal Brexit is a recipe for delay. It can't be done.

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"And the the reason why Dom Raab is saying he is going to prorogue Parliament, in other words try to shut the doors on Parliament, is because the only way that they could try to get it through is by doing that.

"That would be illegal, if they did it for the express purpose of getting it through.

"It would be unconstitutional. It would be undemocratic. And it wouldn't work."

Last night's dramatic hustings was held with the One Nation group of Tory MPs.

They are widely expected to back moderate candidates such as Mr Gove, Mr Hunt or Mr Hancock.

A source in the meeting said just one MP out of more than 50 backed Mr Raab.

Meanwhile, however, Boris Johnson has been gaining ground from moderate MPs despite vowing to leave the EU 'deal or no deal' on October 31.

His allies are understood to be chasing a crucial endorsement from the Brexiteeer European Research Group – whose deputy chairman Steve Baker, a self-described 'Brexit hardman', could yet run himself.

Amber Rudd, a key figure in the One Nation group and 'kingmaker' in the moderate race, is expected to back a candidate before nominations close at 5pm on Monday.

She is understood to be leaning towards Jeremy Hunt, but could also opt for Michael Gove or Matt Hancock.

An ally said they were resigned to the fact the Boris Johnson may well win the race.

But despite her soft Brexit views Ms Rudd would attempt to cling on in a Boris Johnson Cabinet, rather than resigning in protest straight away, the ally said.

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