Top Tories ready to quit over Cameron attack on grammars

Party sources spoke of 'more than one' shadow minister ready to quit because they were so enraged by the move.

David Willetts, the Shadow Education Secretary, yesterday repeated suggestions that existing grammar schools are too elitist - and endorsed Tony Blair's controversial city academies instead.

MPs complained that Mr Cameron was attempting to turn the row into his 'Clause Four moment' - a reference to Mr Blair's definitive battle with the Labour Party over changes to its constitution.

The Tory leader was accused of 'riding roughshod' over his Shadow Cabinet and his education policy group after ignoring their advice on selection.

The speech by Mr Willetts which triggered the row was nodded through while Mr Cameron spent two days working as a teaching assistant.

But one frontbencher told the Daily Mail: "It was rushed through Shadow Cabinet while David Cameron was in Hull pretending to be a teacher.

"Everyone who spoke on the issue raised concerns but William Hague, who was chairing the session in David's absence, just moved the discussion on.

"It's a very silly fight to pick unless they want to get to the point where some people actually decide to walk away.

"If it comes down to a choice between career and principle, then there isn't really much of a choice. More than one person would be in that position."

Mr Cameron's predecessor Michael Howard is understood to be furious at the decision.

He credits the education he received at Llanelli Grammar School with enabling him to go to Cambridge University and achieve success in later life.

Other frontbenchers with misgivings are understood to include David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, and Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary.

While no resignations are expected from the Shadow Cabinet, some middle-ranking shadow ministers are known to be considering their positions.

Mr Cameron stood firm yesterday. He insisted: "Of course we support existing grammar schools. But this is a key test for our party.

"Does it want to be a serious force for government and change, or does it want to be a Right-wing debating society muttering about what might have been?"

Mr Willetts yesterday urged rebel MPs to 'confront the evidence' showing that grammar schools are not the answer.

"The challenge for us is that even in areas where they are located they are not taking the children from the range of social backgrounds that they used to take," he told the BBC.

Party sources insisted the row had not initially been generated to create a 'Clause Four moment'. One said: "The intention actually was to create a Blair-Brown split over academies by suggesting we're more for them than Brown is.

"What they didn't understand is that there are many people who believe viscerally in grammar schools - and indeed have been elected after promising that they will thrive in their areas. Now they seem to think it has become a defining issue."

Edward Leigh, a former Tory minister who now chairs the 40-strong Cornerstone group of Right-wing MPs, added: "By seeming to endorse the comprehensive principle, I fear the party is embracing outdated ideas."

And the UK Independence Party sought to increase the pressure on Mr Cameron by saying that it continues to support grammar schools.

The party's leader, Nigel Farage, said: "It's UKIP that believes in academic selection and believes in grammar schools - we know they work.

"The electorate will say, 'What's the difference between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party?' The answer is, not very much.

"I think this is a disconnect between the David Cameron set and real people."