Theresa May vowed she would not "hide from a challenge" amid speculation she could be about to perform a Cabinet reshuffle in an attempt to repair the damage to her authority.
The Prime Minister, who appears to have seen off an immediate attempt to oust her after her mishap-hit conference speech, is still vulnerable and has come under pressure to bring new faces into her top team in an effort to revitalise her administration.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged Tories to get behind the Prime Minister - but acknowledged there had been a moment while MPs "sniffed the air" before rallying round the embattled premier.
And former prime minister Sir John Major hit out at the "self-absorbed" and "disloyal" behaviour of some Tories who are "driven by their own personal agenda" - comments which will be viewed as a slapdown to Mr Johnson.
Mrs May has repeatedly faced questions about whether Mr Johnson - a potential leadership rival - is "unsackable" due to her weakened position after the gamble of a general election backfired, depriving her of a Commons majority.
But asked what she might do with the Foreign Secretary, Mrs May told the Sunday Times: "It has never been my style to hide from a challenge and I'm not going to start now.
"I'm the PM, and part of my job is to make sure I always have the best people in my Cabinet, to make the most of the wealth of talent available to me in the party."
Mrs May's ill-starred conference speech was interrupted by a prankster who handed her a fake P45, while a persistent cough left her struggling to be heard and a backdrop began to lose letters as she made her crucial address.
The Prime Minister denied she had cried after the speech and hit out at some of the media portrayals of her.
"One minute journalists are accusing me of being an ice maiden or a robot, then they claim I'm a weeping woman in dire need of a good night's sleep," she told the newspaper.
"The truth is my feelings can be hurt, like everyone else, but I am pretty resilient."
She admitted the speech was an "uncomfortable" time but never considered abandoning the address as "I am not someone who gives up".
Questions have been asked about the security arrangements which allowed comedian Lee Nelson - real name Simon Brodkin - to carry out the P45 stunt, but Mrs May said she trusted her police protection officers "completely" - although there would "be a review into the events of the day".
An attempted coup led by former party chairman Grant Shapps has fizzled out, but the Sunday Times claimed at least three Cabinet ministers had discussed the need to replace the Prime Minister on Thursday evening, the day after her conference calamity.
One told the newspaper "it feels to me that this is over before Christmas".
Mr Johnson used a Sunday Telegraph column to question whether the Tory party would allow itself to be forced into "an election that no one wants", adding: "What do you think you are doing you nutters?"
He said the party's MPs "have sniffed the air and turned sensibly away from the cliff".
Sir John used a Mail on Sunday article to urge the Tories to "wake up and smell the coffee", telling Mrs May that radical action on her social justice agenda was needed and calling on the party to unite or risk the "neo-Marxist" Jeremy Corbyn taking power.
Of Mrs May's speech, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said she had acted in a "calm and dignified manner" in difficult circumstances.
The PM's misfortune during the speech had been "seized on by a handful of malcontents", Dr Fox said as he issued a call for unity in the party.
"We are the Brexit Government. We will be judged on whether or not we deliver a successful outcome for our country," Dr Fox wrote in the Sunday Express.
"Any self-indulgence during this most crucial period will send a signal that we are more concerned with personal or party interests than with achieving the right result for Britain."
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said there had been some "unfortunate shenanigans" in the party "but the pushback has been pretty strong" against those trying to force a leadership contest.
She hit out at colleagues engaged in "tittle-tattle", adding that being a politician is "about delivering for the country, it's not and should never be about private ambition" - comments likely to be viewed as a swipe at Mr Johnson.
Ms Davidson told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show the Foreign Secretary had backed the Prime Minister's Florence speech on Brexit and Mrs May should "hold him to that".
"He is a big intellect, a big figure in the party and if the Prime Minister believes he is the right person to be Foreign Secretary then she has my full support," she said.
ends
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel