Rishi Sunak’s hopes of becoming prime minister are over, say top Tories

Senior party figures think the furore over the chancellor's US green card and his wife's tax affairs have put an end to his chances

Senior Conservatives have written off Rishi Sunak as a potential prime minister - and now believe Boris Johnson will have to remove him as chancellor in his next reshuffle - following the furore over his US green card and his wife's tax affairs.

One former Tory minister told the Observer that the fear among Conservative MPs with small majorities was that the party was now in a death spiral" with its two leading figures - the PM and chancellor - both having lost respect among voters.