Banburyshire Tory grandee appeals for rejection of Boris's 'ruthless' government

The Prime Minister took over Lord Heseltine's constituency of Henley in 2001. But his predecessor is totally at odds with Boris Johnson's position on pursuing a no-deal Brexit if an elusive deal does not emerge within the next month.

Remainer Lord Heseltine is a former Deputy Prime Minister and President of the European Movement UK.

In an appeal through the People's Vote organisation today he says he has 'serious fears' about the ruthlessness of Boris Johnson's government.

In the nationwide appeal for funds he says party conferences attract two audiences.

"One, counted in thousands, will be in the hall," he said. "The other, counted in millions, will watch and listen outside.

"The forthcoming election - be it in weeks or months - will be influenced decisively by those outside and hardly at all by those inside.

"Mr Johnson’s premiership so far has been characterised by a repeated and naked attempt to attract Brexit voters by outbidding Mr Farage.

"I have devoted much of my life to the Conservative party – but I have very serious fears about the ruthlessness of this government.

"They have already shown that they are willing to do everything in their power in order to impose a catastrophic No Deal Brexit on the British people. They tried to prorogue Parliament and failed. They sacked 21 of my fellow Conservatives for having the courage to put country before party.

"There is a battle raging now for the soul of the Conservative party and the stakes could not be higher. But I still believe that sense will prevail. Until this country's relationship with Europe is resolved, no election will either deliver a solution or heal the wounds. The issue demands a second referendum," said Lord Heseltine.

"The European Movement has built a community of thousands of campaigners fighting for a People’s Vote in communities across the UK. I am incredibly proud of the passion and enthusiasm that I’ve seen from our activists. It's because of them that we've got this far. Now, in this crucial stage of our fight, we need people's help to ensure that they have the resources that they need to keep campaigning."

Lord Heseltine appealed for funds to help his movement's aims.