Sir John Major has launched a scathing attack on Boris Johnson and Michael Gove accusing them of running a “squalid” and “depressing” campaign that was intent on “misleading” the British people.
In a remarkable interview, Sir John rubbished leave campaign claims that pulling out of the EU would allow Britain to spend more money on the NHS pointing out the Mr Gove and Mr Johnson had both advocating charging for services in the past.
"Michael Gove wanted to privatise it, Boris wanted to charge people for using it and Iain Duncan Smith wanted a social insurance system," he said.
"The NHS is about as safe with them as a pet hamster would be with a hungry python."
He also ridiculed Vote Leave’s claim that Turkey could join the EU as an “utterly false suggestion” and accused those behind it of “misleading people to an extraordinary extent”.
Boris Johnson as one of the leaders of the campaign "has the power to stop it", he added.
“On the economy and what would happen if we actually left, the Leave campaign have said absolutely nothing to the British people and what they have said about leaving is fundamentally dishonest and it's dishonest about the cost of Europe," Sir John told the Marr show.
"And on the subject that they have veered towards, having lost the economic argument, of immigration, I think their campaign is verging on the squalid."
He added: "I am angry at the way the British people are being misled, this is much more important than a general election, this is going to affect people, their livelihoods, their future, for a very long time to come and if they are given honest straightforward facts and they decide to leave, then that is the decision the British people take.
"But if they decide to leave on the basis of inaccurate information, inaccurate information known to be inaccurate, then I regard that as deceitful."
Describing Mr Johnson as a “engaging court jester” he suggested his true motivation was largely driven by personal ambition – but warned him that he “will not have the loyalty of the party he divided” if he becomes the next leader of the Tory Party.
He also refused to rule out the possibility that this referendum could split the party after June 23.
