Former British prime minister John Major attacks Brexiteers

Conservative premier from 1990-97 says that members of his party are making promises “that will never be delivered”

John Major says he is fulfilling a promise to launch legal action against Boris Johnson's plan to suspend parliament. Reuters

The former British prime minister John Major is back on the warpath, laying into Brexiteers in his own Conservative party and warning them that voters will not forgive them for making promises "that will never be delivered" about life outside the European Union.

Mr Major, who succeeded Margaret Thatcher, saw his own time in office during the 1990s overshadowed by disputes about Europe. In a speech in the Foreign Office on Tuesday evening, he warned that Brexit could be devastating.

“It will damage our national and personal wealth, and may seriously hamper our future security, “ Mr Major said. “It may even, over time, break up our United Kingdom. It will most definitely limit the prospects of our young.”

His attack was aimed at, among others, former foreign secretary Boris Johnson when he made a reference about "princelings fighting for the political crown" who issue "coded messages" that are "about as subtle as a punch on the nose."

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“Those whose focus is on self-advancement are rarely the most suitable to be entrusted with power,” Mr Major said, describing the decision to leave the EU as a “colossal misjudgement.”

Mr Major’s speech will make Conservative opponents of Brexit feel better, but there is little love lost between him and Tory euro-sceptics.

They tormented him throughout his time in office, leaving the party so divided that it took them 13 years to recover from their 1997 election drubbing. They regard him as a weak prime minister who signed up to the creation of the EU.

His view of them: “I believe those who promised what will never be delivered will have much to answer for. They persuaded a deceived population to vote to be weaker and poorer. That will never be forgotten – nor forgiven.”