IAIN DUNCAN SMITH has condemned Michael Portillo and his supporters as a “cancer” eating away at the Conservative party.

The Tory leader delivered the indictment of his one-time leadership rival and standard-bearer for the Tory “modernising” wing in private discussions with colleagues. “Portillo and the people around him are like a cancer,” he said.

The row inside the party over the dismissal of two Central Office officials nine days ago, and Portillo’s decision to denounce the decision publicly, showed no sign of subsiding as it emerged that Duncan Smith had dismissed a third official.

The decision to sack Stephen Gilbert, responsible for running the May local elections campaign, was made at the same time. The axeing of Gilbert, who was seen as non-partisan and not a moderniser (unlike the other two officials) has caused consternation across the party.

Nicholas Soames, the Tory MP and grandson of Winston Churchill, lashed out at Duncan Smith’s “incompetence”. “If Stephen Gilbert has gone, that is a disaster,” he said. “It is very bad news for our party indeed. He is an extremely experienced, sensible and very good man.”

Gilbert, the deputy chief executive, had worked for the party for 15 years.

The factional fighting reached the shadow cabinet yesterday with Tim Yeo, the trade and industry spokesman, warning that Duncan Smith’s future could hinge on the May election results.

Rebel Tory MPs are already trying to gather the 25 signatures needed for a vote of confidence in Duncan Smith.

But Stephen Dorrell, the former cabinet minister, urged calm. “A party cannot be taken seriously if it has a leadership election because it cannot think of anything else to do,” he said.

The two other officials to lose their posts with Gilbert were Mark MacGregor, the party’s chief executive, and Rick Nye, head of research.

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