THE Chancellor has slapped down Boris Johnson and accused him of "talking nonsense" by suggested the UK Government has not even tried to deliver a proper Brexit deal.

Philip Hammond also said that, despite the former foreign secretary being pivotal to the Leave campaign, he has “never engaged” in the detail of Brexit.

It came as he insisted business leaders should be “reassured” by leaked plans for a ‘no deal’ scenario, as they demonstrated a “detailed contingency planning structure” is in place.

A snatched picture taken on Thursday morning showed a Treasury minister clutching a document headlined Operation Yellowhammer, outlining “no-deal contingency planning”.

During a visit to Glasgow, Mr Hammond indicated crashing out of the EU with no agreement could usher in spending cuts as priorities are reviewed.

Speaking to The Herald, he said Theresa May’s Chequers plan for a softer Brexit was “carefully crafted” to deliver the will of the British people while also recognising the concerns of the EU.

Asked if Mr Johnson was right to say the Government had not even tried to deliver a proper Brexit, he said: “No, talking nonsense.

“Boris Johnson has never engaged with the detail of the process. We are in the detail. It's an incredibly complicated process.

"If you're going to successfully negotiate with somebody, you have to understand your negotiating partner.

“You have to understand their objectives and their concerns and their fears, and try and propose a way forward which delivers our objectives but also recognises their objectives, and recognises where their red lines are.

"We very carefully crafted the Chequers offer to deliver on the objectives of the British people as expressed in the referendum, but also to recognise the concerns that the European Union has and its need to defend and protect the institutions of the European Union.

"Chequers is a way forward that will allow us to protect British jobs, British prosperity, British businesses.

"It's a way forward that is negotiable with the European Union and will deliver on the decision that the British people have made to be outside the political structures of the European Union."

His public criticism of the former foreign secretary underlines deepening splits in the Tory Party over Brexit.

In a newspaper column on Monday, Mr Johnson launched a scathing attack on the Chequers plan, insisting it will mean the UK has "gone into battle with the white flag fluttering over our leading tank".

He accused some Government members of using the Irish border issue to "stop a proper Brexit" and said the real scandal was "not that we have failed, but that we have not even tried".

In response, Mrs May's official spokesman said the article had "no new ideas" to respond to.

Mr Johnson's intervention fuelled speculation he is gearing up to launch a leadership bid. A survey on Conservative Home, a website aimed at Tory grassroots activists, indicated he is the clear favourite to lead the party after Mrs May.

It also emerged he will address hundreds of delegates at a Tory conference rally the night before Mrs May’s keynote speech.

Mr Johnson previously dubbed the Treasury the “heart of Remain”.

Mr Hammond backed staying in the EU ahead of 2016’s referendum, and is seen as one of the key figures pushing for a softer Brexit.

Speaking to the media separately at Holyrood, Scottish Secretary David Mundell admitted his party was split by Brexit, and urged people to rally round the Chequers plan.

He said: “You can’t dress up the fact that there are views of Brexit within the Conservative Party. That has been the case for a very long time. There are people who would argue for a no deal, but I don’t think in any way they represent the majority.”

Mr Hammond will be in Vienna today to meet with European counterparts and "put the case for the Chequers plan".

Visiting Strathclyde University, he condemned the SNP's record in Scotland and called on Nicola Sturgeon to stop talking about a second independence referendum and "focus on governing this country".

It came as Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab met EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier for the latest round of talks in Brussels.

Mr Barnier reportedly declared Mrs May's Chequers plan "dead in the water" during a meeting with MPs earlier in the week.

Elsewhere, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley warned those opposing Chequers that any alternative proposal could mean Britain staying in the EU.