He is to say the methods used by ministers will undo the unity of society and will lead to long-term authoritarian government.

Lord Sumption will say that ministers avoided Parliament through the Public Health Act which let them introduce lockdowns and other measures without the same level of scrutiny by the House of Commons or Lords.

Giving the Cambridge Freshfields annual law lecture, he will accuse the Government of ‚tendentiously‘ presenting guidance as if it was law – such as the two-metre social distancing rule.