Lord Patten was appointed in 1998 by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to head up an independent commission on policing in Northern Ireland as part of the peace process.

It became known as the Patten Commission and it made dozens of recommendations in its final report to shake up policing, including a proposal to introduce an equal recruitment policy for Catholics and Protestants. He also served a minister in the Northern Ireland Office between June 1983 and September 1985.

Last week Theresa May’s right-hand man Damian Green admitted it was now “possible” that no formal deal with the DUP would be reached, but Cabinet ministers remain confident the DUP will vote in favour of the Queen’s Speech on Thursday with or without a deal.

In an extraordinary attack on Theresa May’s leadership, Lord Patten suggested the country was in its worst crisis since Suez in 1956, adding that he found it extraordinary that someone who seemed to dislike meeting the public had made it to the top in politics.

“It’s like becoming a doctor and not liking the sight of blood,” he said. “It’s very odd that people go into politics and, unlike somebody like Bill Clinton, don’t actually like people very much.”

Asked how he compared the country’s current situation with past crises, he said: “Well the ‘70s weren’t great, because we wondered whether Britain was still governable, partly because of the abuse of trade union power which the Wilson government, the Callaghan government and then the Conservative government tried to deal with.