Boris Johnson has been compared to Adolf Hitler by the chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum who vowed to quit the Tories if the frontrunner becomes the party's next leader.

Mohammed Amin, a Tory party member for 36 years, said the former foreign secretary was a 'buffoon' who was not 'sufficiently moral' to be prime minister.

He claimed that while Mr Johnson was popular with MPs and Tory members, 'popularity is not the test' and added: 'A lot of Germans thought that Hitler was the right man for them.'

Mr Johnson, who today confirmed he will take part in a televised leadership debate, topped the first round of voting on Thursday after he was backed by 114 Conservative MPs.

The other Tory contenders for the leadership are now squabbling over who should become Mr Johnson's main challenger for the keys to Number 10 with his first haul of votes enough to almost guarantee he will be one of the final two candidates.

Meanwhile, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, announced he was dropping out of the race and the battle is now on among the other candidates to hoover up the 20 Tory MPs who backed him in the first ballot.

Mr Johnson provoked widespread criticism after he wrote in a column for The Telegraph last August that Muslim women who wore burkas looked like 'letter boxes' and 'bank robbers'.

Mohammed Amin, a Tory party member for 36 years, said on Radio 4's Today programme the former foreign secretary was a 'buffoon' who was not 'sufficiently moral' to be prime minister

Who is Mohammed Amin? A Labour supporter in the 1970s, he then joined the Liberal Party before resigning his membership and joining the Tories in 1983. He attended his first Conservative Party conference in 1984 but after joining Price Waterhouse in 1987 he did not attend again until 2008 as he pursued his professional career as an accountant. He was introduced to the Conservative Muslim Forum in 2006 and has served as its chairman since June 2014. He was awarded an MBE in 2016 for services to inter-faith relations in Greater Manchester. Mr Amin has previously been named as one of the 100 most influential Muslims in Britain. Born in Pakistan, he moved to the UK in 1952 before his second birthday. He is married and has four children. Advertisement

His candidacy took a hit this morning as Mr Amin compared the former mayor of London to the Nazi leader.

'There are many horrible people who have been popular,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

'Popularity is not the test. The test is, is this person sufficiently moral to be prime minister, and I believe he fails that test.'

Told that comparing Mr Johnson with Hitler was 'shocking', Mr Amin defended his comments and said: 'I am not saying Boris Johnson wants to send people to the gas chamber, clearly he doesn't.

'He's a buffoon. But he as far as I am concerned has insufficient concern about the nature of truth for me to ever be a member of a party that he leads.'

Mr Amin said he would quit the Tories if Mr Johnson won the battle to take over from Theresa May.

'I am not prepared to be a member of a party that chooses him as its leader,' he said.

'I would resign after 36 years.'

Mr Amin later told Sky News he believed other Muslim members of the Conservative Party would also quit if Mr Johnson wins the leadership election.

Hancock quits Tory leadership race after admitting he can't win Matt Hancock announced his withdrawal from the Conservative leadership race today and prompted a scramble among the remaining candidates to win over his supporters. The Health Secretary finished sixth in the first round of voting on Thursday as he secured the backing of 20 Tory MPs. Declaring his decision to pull out of the contest to replace Theresa May, Mr Hancock conceded he was not in a position to go on and win. The remaining six candidates will be hoping to win over Mr Hancock's supporters before the second round of voting takes place on Tuesday when they will need at least 33 votes to stay in the race. Advertisement

'I suspect there are other people who might do the same,' he said.

'I have not been talking to them, I am not trying to organise a mass resignation.

'There are lots and lots of Muslims in the party who are very concerned about Boris Johnson.'

Mr Johnson defended his burka comments when he was grilled about them at his leadership launch on Wednesday.

He said: 'Of course occasionally some plaster comes off the ceiling as a result of a phrase I may have used or indeed as a result of the way that phrase has been wrenched out of context and interpreted by those who wish for reasons of their own to caricature my views.'

Mr Johnson was cleared in December last year of breaking the Conservative Party's code of conduct over the burka row as an independent panel concluded he had been 'respectful and tolerant' in what he had written.

The former foreign secretary surged to a commanding victory in the first ballot of Tory MPs and he is now almost guaranteed a place in the final two

Rory U-turns and says he WOULD serve under Boris Rory Stewart performed a screeching U-turn today as he said he would be prepared to serve in a Boris Johnson-led government. The International Development Secretary yesterday said he would set up a rebel Parliament if Mr Johnson became leader and tried to pursue a No Deal Brexit. But he struck an altogether different tone today as he said he would take a ministerial role under the former mayor of London if there was a 'crisis' resulting from the UK leaving the EU without an agreement. Advertisement

Mr Hancock said he had concluded he could not win the race to be the next Tory leader and as such was withdrawing his candidacy.

'I have put myself forward as the candidate of the future but it is increasingly clear that the party understandably is looking for a candidate for the unique circumstances that exist now,' he said.

Mr Hancock said he would now enter discussions with the remaining candidates.

His decision to withdraw from the race means the remaining six candidates are now scrambling to win over his supporters.

Securing their backing would deliver a candidate a major boost when Tory MPs vote for the second time on Tuesday.

Boris bows to pressure and agrees to TV debate Boris Johnson today agreed to take part in a TV debate with his Tory leadership rivals after he was accused of hiding from his challengers. The former foreign secretary said he wanted a 'sensible grown-up debate' and claimed he had always been 'keen' to appear. He said he would now take part in a debate hosted by the BBC on Tuesday after the second round of voting in the battle to succeed Theresa May has taken place. However, Mr Johnson has snubbed a debate set to be hosted by Channel 4 on Sunday. Advertisement