Boris Johnson came under repeated attack in the latest EU referendum debate - with a Tory Cabinet colleague accusing him of putting his personal ambitions ahead of the country.
Energy Secretary Amber Rudd tore into the former London mayor several times during the televised event on ITV, accusing him of peddling "misinformation".
Ms Rudd - representing the Remain campaign alongside Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Labour's Angela Eagle - went on the offensive from the start, accusing the Leave side of talking nonsense.
And during an exchange on immigration numbers, she told the audience: "I fear that the only number Boris is interested in is the one that says No 10."
Mr Johnson retorted that he was backing Leave because David Cameron had failed to secure the changes which would have enabled him to meet his commitment to cut net migration to below 100,000 in his EU re-negotiation.
"That did not happen in the re-negotiation. We didn't get anything of the kind," he said.
"There has got to be democratic consent for the scale of the flows that we are seeing."
Ms Rudd turned on her Tory colleague again in her closing remarks, describing Mr Johnson as "the life and soul of the party, but not the one you want driving you home at the end of the evening".
After the debate Vote Leave's Priti Patel said Ms Rudd's attacks against Mr Johnson were "totally unnecessary", adding: "I have the view that when you resort to personal insults you have lost the argument."
Representing the Leave campaign, Mr Johnson, Labour's Gisela Stuart and energy minister Andrea Leadsom repeatedly hammered home their "take back control" campaign message.
Ms Leadsom clashed with Ms Rudd - her departmental colleague in the Conservative Government - when she quoted a former Interpol chief who said EU membership was like "hanging out a sign welcoming terrorists to Europe".
Ms Rudd shot back: "This is what I call scaremongering, when people talk about immigration in that tone. It is completely unacceptable."
The Leave campaign's controversial claim that Brexit would free up £350m a week the UK sends to Brussels came under scrutiny - on the day prominent Tory Dr Sarah Wollaston switched sides to Remain in protest at its continued use.
Ms Sturgeon declared: "It is a scandal that is still emblazoned across the campaign bus because it's an absolute whopper."
Ms Rudd added: "What is so misleading about this is the fact that being in the European Union makes us money.
"We're going to repaint that bus and put a leprechaun on one end, a great big rainbow on one side and a pot of gold at the end.
"Because that's all it is - pure fantasy."
Labour's Yvette Cooper, who backs Remain, told Sky News she agreed with the claim that Mr Johnson was positioning himself for Mr Cameron's job.
She said: "Most people do think that, Boris Johnson has flipped his position around so many different times on all of this. In the end I think for him actually this is about his personal position.
"I think it's far more about an argument about the future of the Tory party then it is about the future of the country. And that's dangerous for the country."
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