David Cameron blames Michael Gove not Boris Johnson for his defeat in the EU referendum and the loss of his political career and will launch a withering attack on him in his memoirs, The Sunday Times has learnt.

The former prime minister has told friends Gove is “mad” and behaved like a “lunatic” in the run-up to the vote and he had no idea his friend would betray him by backing the “leave” campaign.

Cameron’s decision to reveal his view of Gove in a series of private conversations appears timed to undermine the environment secretary’s hopes of succeeding Theresa May, at a time when Gove is rebuilding his reputation with MPs and the Tory grassroots.

Two sources have revealed that Cameron plans to be “very