Sussex MP Francis Maude has warned colleagues that vicious in-fighting is "destroying" the Conservative party.

The former Shadow Foreign Secretary said the arguing between Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith's advisers and rival camps must stop.

Horsham MP Mr Maude added: "The Conservative party needs to go and lie down in a darkened room for a period and gather itself together."

Mr Maude, a moderniser who ran Michael Portillo's leadership campaign in 2001, spoke out after party in-fighting exploded into a bitter public row.

Mr Portillo, rattled by the sacking of two key modernisers at Central Office and rumours party chairman Theresa May also faced the axe, raised the prospect of a leadership challenge against Mr Duncan Smith.

This prompted retaliation from Mr Duncan Smith's inner-circle, who labelled Mr Portillo "insane", "a cancer" and "self-indulgent to the point of madness".

This was followed-up by Tory Chief Whip David Maclean. He today accused Mr Portillo of "selfish and destructive" behaviour.

However Mr Maude argued the Tory party should remembers its true purpose - defeating Labour and returning to Government. He insisted: "All of this briefing needs to stop straight away.

It is very corrosive, very destructive. It happened at the last Parliament and I was to some extent a victim of it.

"All I would say is that it destroys trust between colleagues, people who have to work together, and actually also kills any of the pleasure and satisfaction there is to be had out of high-level politics.

"We have got to be a broad party where people who will have differing views on lots of things, which is perfectly proper, can work together in trust and friendship.

"This kind of briefing is absolutely destructive of that and it has to stop".

Mr Maude said he had "no idea whatsoever" if there would be a leadership challenge to Mr Duncan Smith.

"I think that is a bit of a distraction. I think the more important thing is for us in a grown-up, mature reflective way to talk over what underlies all this."

Senior MPs from Left and Right have said privately the next few months would be critical for Mr Duncan Smith.

If the party fared badly in the local elections in May, a challenge could be launched in the summer or autumn.