Boris Johnson has suffered another blow after former universities minister Sam Gyimah defected to the Liberal Democrats.

The East Surrey MP accused the PM of ‘veering towards populism and English nationalism’ in the battle to deliver Brexit by October 31.

Gyimah was one of 21 Conservatives stripped of the whip after voting against the government on a bill to block a No-Deal Brexit.

His shock departure will be seen as a major gain for the Lib Dems just before their party conference begins in Bournemouth.

A vocal advocate for a second referendum, he was seen as a rising star in the previous Theresa May administration.

In an interview with the Observer, Gyimah claimed ministers were ‘undermining the court’ and ‘questioning experts because their views are inconvenient for what the government says about no-deal’.

He claimed the government is contradicting itself when it says the law is the ‘centrepiece of its platform’ but then choosing what legislation to respect.

He said: ‘This is in many ways undermining key pillars of our constitution and the functioning of our democracy.

‘The issue for me is not just Brexit.

‘It is beyond Brexit – how you conduct politics and the veering towards populism and English nationalism.’

Mr Gyimah was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and lived in Ghana as a child.

He read philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford’s Somerville College, Oxford, and served as a president of the Oxford Union.

Since being elected in 2010, he has been a minister for childcare, prisons and universities.

He briefly joined the race to replace Theresa May as party leader before withdrawing.

Gyimah becomes the sixth MP to defect to the Lib Dems this year following Labour MPs Luciana Berger and Angela Smith, and fellow former Tory MP Phillip Lee.

Former Labour MP Chuka Ummuna, once touted as a future leader, also joined the party.

The Lib Dems now have 18 MPs compared to 12 after the 2017 General Election.

Gyimah confirmed that he asked Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson whether she would stand down her party candidate in his East Surrey constituency at the next election, but she declined.

He said: “She is a feisty woman. She looked me dead in the eye and said, “Sam, I’m in the business of creating Lib Dem MPs and not for finding a way back for Conservative MPs”.’

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