THERESA May has urged her senior colleagues to show "strength and unity” as she urged them to keep details of their Cabinet discussions private.

Following a weekend of malevolent briefings against Chancellor Philip Hammond, the Prime Minister told senior ministers that some members of the Government had failed to take their responsibilities seriously.

She told the weekly meeting at No 10 that she had tried to encourage open discussion of policy within Cabinet but that it was vital for the UK Government that this remained private, her spokesman explained.

Mrs May told Cabinet that the “briefings and counter-briefings” seen over the weekend were "a case of colleagues not taking their responsibilities seriously".

She added: "There is a need to show strength and unity as a country and that starts around the Cabinet table."

The spokesman declined to say if individual ministers responded to her call but noted how they had shown "widespread agreement" with the PM's message.

The attempt to instil Cabinet discipline comes after a series of newspaper headlines about Mr Hammond's comments at last week's meeting, culminating in a story quoting an unnamed minister accusing the Chancellor of trying to "f*** up" Brexit.

According to newspaper reports, Mr Hammond was slapped down by the Prime Minister for saying that women could "even" become train drivers; a claim he denied.

A separate report said that he had told colleagues that public sector workers were “overpaid” compared with those in the private sector; a claim he failed to deny.

The Chancellor used a TV appearance on Sunday to accuse Cabinet rivals of trying to undermine his agenda for a "softer" business-friendly Brexit prioritising jobs and the economy.

But afterwards one minister was quoted as saying: "What's really going on is that the Establishment, the Treasury, is trying to f*** it up. They want to frustrate Brexit."

As Brexit negotiations continued in Brussels, Mrs May used a speech at a Tory drinks party on the House of Commons' terrace on Monday evening to warn against "backbiting and carping" and told MPs to prepare for "serious business" after Parliament's summer recess.

She warned that infighting could result in Labour and Jeremy Corbyn winning power.

Without a Commons majority, Mrs May will be forced to rely on DUP votes to get Brexit legislation through the Commons and she will require iron discipline from her own party to secure its progress.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, revealed how ministers had had "frank and full discussions" at Cabinet but said she found reports of infighting "perplexing".

She rejected suggestions that the PM had lost her authority as a result of the botched election, telling ITV's Good Morning Britain: "She is respected by the Cabinet, she is our Prime Minister, we do have 54 more seats than Labour and we are getting on with the job in hand."

Asked whether or not members of the Cabinet were seeking to undermine the Chancellor because they regarded his vision of Brexit as too "soft", Ms Rudd replied: "The Cabinet is united in wanting to make sure that we deliver a Brexit that does protect the economy, that does protect businesses... Philip Hammond has talked about that and he is absolutely right to do so.”

She added: "We want to make sure that we have a soft landing, that we protect jobs and businesses and employers to make sure that the economy of the UK remains robust."