Liz Truss ‘in talks’ with Lord Frost as she bids to ‘give ex-Brexit chief a major Cabinet role’

Former Brexit chief Lord Frost could be in line for a return to the Cabinet if Liz Truss becomes prime minister next month.

The Tory peer is in talks about rejoining the Government with Ms Truss wanting him to run the Cabinet Office, it has emerged.

Lord Frost served as Boris Johnson‘s chief Brexit negotiator before being given a Cabinet role in March last year.

He later quit the Government with a swipe at the ‘direction of travel’ of Mr Johnson’s administration on Covid restrictions, net-zero ambitions and tax rises.

The 57-year-old is popular with the Conservatives’ grassroots and has recently been vocal about issues such as climate change.

Lord Frost this month insisted there is no climate ’emergency’ and urged the next PM to move away from ‘medieval technology’, such as wind power, in order to focus on nuclear power and fracking.

He is supporting Ms Truss in the Tory leadership contest and, according to The Sun, is wanted by her to be the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she reaches Number 10.

But the newspaper reported that no agreement had yet been reached between Lord Frost and the Truss campaign.

A source said: ‘There’s a place for Frosty at the table, for sure, but so far he seems to be holding out for something bigger than CDL.’

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is traditionally seen as a ‘fixer’ at the centre of Government and charged with driving Government policy through Whitehall.

Lord Frost has hailed Ms Truss for understanding a ‘need for radical change’ and described her as ‘a convinced advocate of free markets and of freedom’.

He also helped to derail her rival Penny Mordaunt’s leadership campaign last month.

Lord Frost claimed Ms Mordaunt was ‘absent on parade’ when he worked with her in Government.

He revealed how he asked Mr Johnson to ‘move her on and find someone else to support me’ during his negotiations with the EU.

As speculation mounts about who could form the top rank of Ms Truss’s Government, Lord Frost said: ‘No-one should be speculating about future roles in government while the leadership election is still not even over.

‘I continue to be fully behind Liz as the best candidate for future PM.’

A spokesman for Ms Truss said: ‘We don’t comment on rumours, gossip, or speculation – we’re taking nothing for granted.’

As well as Lord Frost, other key backers of the Foreign Secretary are also being touted as likely members of a Truss administration.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, is widely expected to be appointed as Chancellor by Ms Truss.

James Cleverly, the Education Secretary, has been tipped to replace Ms Truss as Foreign Secretary if she becomes PM.

Ms Truss’s long-time ally Therese Coffey, the current Work and Pensions Secretary, is also expected to get a top job, perhaps as Chief Whip.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and veteran eurosceptic Sir John Redwood have also been suggested as surprise returnees to Government under a Truss premiership.

Meanwhile, those Tory leadership candidates who dropped out earlier in the race before pledging their support for Ms Truss are also expected to be given prominent roles.

Suella Braverman, the Attorney General, has been suggested as the next Home Secretary, while Ms Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch also tipped for Cabinet roles.

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, is Ms Truss’s remaining rival for the Tory leadership, with the contest set to end on 5th September.

A beaten candidate is traditionally offered a job in the new leader’s top team once a leadership battle is concluded.

But Mr Sunak this week suggested he could turn down such a Cabinet role under Ms Truss, due to their recent public spats over the economy.