Michael Gove accused of paving the way for historic Conservative election defeat by 'betraying' Boris Johnson as well 'plotting and scheming' by top official in his old constituency

Michael Gove was last night accused of paving the way for a historic Tory election defeat by 'betraying' Boris Johnson, as well as 'plotting and scheming'.

He also faced claims that he had committed 'catastrophic errors of judgment' and had had a 'dreadful socialist vision' about how the country should be run.

Uncomfortably for the Levelling Up Secretary, these withering verdicts came not from his enemies in the other parties but from a former senior Tory in his own constituency.

Moreover, his accuser – David Jay, until recently treasurer of Surrey Heath Conservative Association – emailed his damning summary to Mr Gove directly.

Despite being considered one of the Tories' top performers in government over the past 14 years, Mr Gove – who has now stood down as Surrey Heath MP – has divided opinion among party members over his fraught relationship with Mr Johnson.

In dramatic circumstances, he effectively torpedoed Mr Johnson's first bid for the Tory leadership in 2016 by withdrawing his support at the last minute.

In 2022, he was sacked from the Cabinet by Mr Johnson after allegedly telling the then Prime Minister that he had to resign.

In his letter, Mr Jay tore into Mr Gove's treatment of the former PM: 'Plotting, scheming and disloyalty – twice you betrayed Boris Johnson, a PM who, despite your best efforts, led us to the best General Election result for our Party since the time of Thatcher.

'The first of your betrayals, in 2016, directly led us into a disastrous Theresa May premiership – setting back the Brexit the people voted for and risked derailing it altogether.

'The second betrayal, in 2022, delivered us the chaos and 20 per cent-plus polling deficits we are suffering from today and is now likely to lead us to a historic defeat at the forthcoming General Election.'

Mr Jay claimed that also in 2022, 'the ink had barely dried on Liz [Truss]'s nomination paper before you were briefing and lobbying against her in order to install your preferred candidate as PM'.

That was seen last night as a thinly veiled reference to Mr Gove's well-known championing of Kemi Badenoch.

Mr Jay further listed what he called 'catastrophic errors of judgment', criticising Mr Gove for being a 'lockdown zealot' during the Covid pandemic, and adding: 'We are still dealing with the impact of these measures on people's lives, health and education.'

He went on: 'You have prioritised power over Conservatism at every stage of your parliamentary career. You once famously said 'We've had enough of experts'. And yet you've constantly sought to impose yourself on all aspects of people's lives, and along with it a dreadful socialist vision as to how a country and party should be run.'

Last night, allies of the Cabinet Minister denied he had plotted against Mr Johnson or acted to bring him down while he was PM.

A spokesman for Mr Gove said only: 'David has been a great local activist and treasurer. Michael wishes him all the very best in the future.'