Tony Blair ‘feels sorry’ for Theresa May as job ‘under threat’

Tony Blair has told Sky News he "feels sorry" for Theresa May after her election gamble backfired, leaving her clinging to power.

The Prime Minister lost seats and failed to secure an outright majority in the Commons last month.

Her Government is now being propped up by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party.

There is speculation she could face a Tory leadership battle and many commentators do not think she will take the party into another general election due in 2022.

Former PM Mr Blair claimed she was in a precarious position and was under threat from colleagues.

He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge it was a "very unsatisfactory situation" that Mrs May was surrounded by people "waiting for the moment they decide to throw her off the ledge".

He added: "I think there is something a little unseemly about all of it really."

His comments come days after Mrs May said she shed a "little tear" when she saw the exit poll on election night that forecast her election gamble would not pay off.

Mr Blair said he felt sorry for her because "she’s somebody who’s got the best interest of the country at heart" but he "profoundly disagrees with her about Brexit".

He does not want the UK to leave the European Union, despite a majority of voters backing a divorce from the bloc.

However, Mrs May is committed to delivering "the will of the people" by taking the country out of the EU.

Mr Blair said: "I understand why she thinks ‘the people have spoken, it’s my job to deliver that verdict’.

"But I would like to see more leadership and less followship."

In an interview to mark her first year in Number 10, the PM said she did not consider stepping down in the wake of the shock result and insisted she does not regret calling the snap election.

She also declined to say how much longer she will remain in Downing Street, saying: "I still see there is a lot that we need to do and as Prime Minister I want to get on with that job of changing people’s lives for the better."

:: Watch the full interview with Tony Blair on Sophy Ridge on Sunday – at 10am

(c) Sky News 2017: Tony Blair ‘feels sorry’ for Theresa May as job ‘under threat’