Theresa May's de facto deputy says - I don't think I want to be PM

Reuters
FILE PHOTO - Britain's Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington walks on Downing Street in London, Britain March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May's de-facto deputy said on Sunday he did not think he had any wish to take her job.

"I don't think that I have any wish to take over from the PM, I think (she) is doing a fantastic job," David Lidington told reporters on Sunday.

He spoke after media reports of a possible coup that could install him as a caretaker leader.

"One thing that working closely with the prime minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task," he said. "I have absolute admiration for the way she is going about it."

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)