Sam Gyimah: Former Conservative minister launches blistering attack on Boris Johnson as he joins Lib Dems

A former Conservative minister has launched a blistering attack on Boris Johnson as he leaves the party to join the Liberal Democrats

Sam Gyimah, who served in the Justice department under Theresa May, said the government had a “scorched earth approach” to delivering Brexit regardless of the cost to the country.

He went on to accuse the Conservative party of "veering towards populism and English nationalism".

Mr Gyimah was one of 21 MPs expelled from the party after voting against the government to block a no-deal Brexit.

He told the Observer: “I listen to ministers undermining the courts, ministers questioning experts because their views are inconvenient for what the government is saying about no deal.

"You have a government that says law enforcement is the centrepiece of its platform, and yet says in another breath that it will pick and choose what laws it chooses to respect.

“This is in many ways undermining key pillars of our constitution and the functioning of our democracy.

"The issue for me is not just Brexit. It is beyond Brexit – how you conduct politics and the veering towards populism and English nationalism.”

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