Cabinet did nothing while Johnson damaged UK’s reputation, says Major

Sir John Major believes some Tory leadership candidates are also culpable for the lapses of the past few years. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Members of Boris Johnson’s cabinet failed to speak up while the prime minister spent years damaging democracy at home and the UK’s reputation abroad, John Major has told MPs.

The former prime minister issued a warning to a committee that democracy “is not inevitable” and can be undone “step by step, action by action, falsehood by falsehood”.