Boris Johnson at the Black and White Ball in February with Carrie Symonds, said to have been forced out as Tory party communications chief over her links with Brexiteers Ben Cawthra

This article is the subject of a legal complaint by Ruzwana Bashir.

The Tory party was plunged into a bitter civil war over dirty tricks last night after it was revealed that Theresa May’s aides drew up a dossier on Boris Johnson’s sex life in an apparent effort to prevent him from becoming prime minister.

The document, passed to The Sunday Times by a Conservative source, contains a catalogue of lurid allegations about Johnson’s sexual liaisons, quips from him about cocaine and damning assessments of his character.

The 4,000-word “war book” began circulating in Westminster last week, just hours before it was revealed that Johnson and his second wife, Marina Wheeler, had separated and were divorcing.

The document was drawn up by one of May’s…