A FORMER Tory minister has savaged Boris Johnson’s leadership failures and accused him of presiding over a “culture of casual law-breaking” in Downing Street.

In an excoriating letter declaring his lack of confidence in the Prime Minister, Jesse Norman also said Mr Johnson’s claim to have been vindicated over Partygate was “grotesque”.

He told the PM that he was “putting the Union itself gravely at risk” with “deeply questionable” and “almost certainly illegal” plans to overhaul the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Hereford and South Herefordshire MP also told Mr Johnson his government lacked a “sense of mission” and had “no long-term plan”.

He blamed Mr Johnson for “simply seeking to campaign” and creating distractions along political and cultural dividing lines “mainly for your advantage, as a time when the economy is struggling, inflation is soaring and growth is anaemic at best.”

The devastating catalogue of complaints was released a few minutes before it was officially announced that Mr Johnson would face a confidence vote this evening.

Sir Graham Brady, chair of the Tory backbench 1922 committee, confirmed that 54 of the party’s MPs, or 15 percent, had called for a vote. 

He said that he told the Prime Minister on Sunday that the threshold had been met and both agreed a vote should take place as soon as possible. It will be held from 6 to 8pm tonight..

In his letter, Mr Norman, a financial secretary to the Treasury from 2019 to 2021, said there were no circumstances in which he could serve in a government led by him.

He warned that any breach of the Northern Irish Protocol would be “economically very damaging, politically foolhardy and almost certainly illegal”.

He added: “You are the leader of the Conservative and Unionist party, yet you are putting the Union itself gravely at risk,” he said.

He said the Government’s Rwanda policy was “ugly, likely to be counterproductive and of doubtful legality” and that plans to privatise Channel 4 were “unnecessary and provocative”.

Responding to Mr Norman’s statement, health secretary Sajid Javid said MPs were “entitled to their views and to express them and that’s how we come to a decision”. 

He told BBC Breakfast: “Jesse’s entitled his views. I’m entitled to my views and my view is that we don’t need a leadership election. What we need is to all rally around the Prime Minister and focus on delivery and deliver for the British people.”

Technically, Mr Johnson can stay in office if he wins a simple majority, or 180 votes, tonight.

However, in practice, the margin of victory is crucial. 

If more than 100 of his own MPs were to vote against him, it would gravely undermine his authority and lead to growing pressure on him to stand down.

There May won a no confidence vote in December 2018 by 200 to 117 votes, but was out of Number 10 six months later, albeit after the Tories fell to fifth place in the Euro elections.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “Tonight is a chance to end months of speculation and allow the Government to draw a line and move on, delivering on the people’s priorities.

“The PM welcomes the opportunity to make his case to MPs and will remind them that when they’re united and focused on the issues that matter to voters there is no more formidable political force.”