Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Prime Minister to "give me a break" in an alleged bust up over the coronavirus emergency, according to reports.
The pair are understood to have come to blows after Boris Johnson grilled his minister over the Department for Health's handling of the pandemic, the Mail on Sunday reports.
Mr Hancock is said to have responded to his boss: "That's not fair - give me a break."
It has led to speculation over the Health Secretary's future, with a Government source reportedly telling the paper he is on "borrowed time".
"He has fallen out with the most powerful figures in the Government, from the Prime Minister down. Nothing will change immediately. But once we have beaten this thing, expect him to be moved," the source said.
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However, another source close to Mr Hancock has refuted the suggestions, saying the PM has praised him for doing an "amazing job in hellishly difficult circumstances".
"We’ve been working incredibly well with the PM and the whole No 10 team and have had nothing but total support from them," they said.
The UK now has the highest recorded coronavirus death rate in Europe, and although the government warns against directly comparing figures between different countries, it faces probing questions over its handling of the pandemic.
The nation's death toll now stands at 31,587 after 346 people died in the last 24 hours.
It also emerged last night that more than 25 million pairs of goggles purchased for NHS hospitals have been found to offer inadequate protection against Covid-19.
In the latest failure linked to supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS frontline - vital to protect health workers from the highly contagious virus - more than 16 million of the Tiger Eye goggles had to be recalled from hospitals.
The goggles, which were ordered as part of a pandemic stockpile in 2009, were found to not meet safety regulations set out by the British Standards Institute.
The Prime Minister is due to address the nation this evening, setting out his roadmap for the next stage of the coronavirus battle.
In a televised speech, Boris Johnson is expected to tell the public to "stay alert, control the virus and save lives" as he shifts his messaging from "stay home".
It is understood he will call on workers and businesses to stay alert by following strict social distancing rules, as the Government urges employees who cannot work from home to begin returning to offices and factories.
The government's new five-tier system, similar to a scheme used to publicise terror threat levels, will be used to flag up any coronavirus risk.
It was also encourage the nation to stick to all the rules which include social distancing.
