Lord Hague, the former leader of the Conservative Party, said Mr Johnson is now facing a „big problem“ because it „isn’t viable actually when more than 40 per cent of your party vote against you“.

He told Times Radio: “That is very difficult then to proceed as party leader in the long term. This is like trying to drive along the M1 with two flat tyres. You can say you are at the steering wheel but is it really viable? You are not going to get to the end of the motorway.”