The former Conservative frontbencher claimed Boris Johnson committed a significant blunder as he had the party spiral into "chaos". The Prime Minister has come under scrutiny over the past month due to a series of controversial moves which sparked concerns among Tory files over his ability to hold on to Number 10. Michael Portillo warned that "playing us for fools" could significantly impact his popularity in the long run.

       Speaking to GB News, Mr Portillo said: "He needs to be a different person from the one that he is and that stuff is impossible.

       “The Boris who wins elections is also the Boris who’s no good at coping with everyday life.

       “He’s made an industry of being of being buffoonish and chaotic and disorganised.

       “But you know, lots of people have loved that about him because they can identify with that, but they can’t entirely identify with chaos. And they certainly can’t identify with being fooled."

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       He added: "I think that’s the thing you hear that phrase all the time.

       “He’s playing us for fools. You think we’re fools. People don’t like to be played for fools.”

       The Prime Minister has been facing mounting pressure since the Conservatives lost their poll lead over Labour.

       The drop came after was revealed that his communications chief attended a festive gathering in Downing Street during a lockdown last year.

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       Mr Johnson has faced a barrage of criticism since a video emerged showing his staff laughing and joking about a Downing Street party during a 2020 Christmas lockdown when such festivities were banned.

       Downing Street had denied a party took place. Johnson said he was furious about the impression the video gave that there was one rule for those at the heart of British power and another for the people.

       A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper conducted this week showed the Conservatives had dropped 3 percentage points from December 2 to 33 percent of the vote while Labour rose 4 percentage points to 37 percent.

       Three-quarters of people believe that there was a Christmas party in which Covid rules were broken and 68 percent of those polled believe the Prime Minister was not telling the truth when he denied it, The Times said.

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       A separate YouGov poll said Johnson's popularity has fallen to its lowest level since he took office.

       A Survation poll of 1,178 people carried out on Wednesday and Thursday put Labour on 40 percent of the vote, up 1 percentage point, and Johnson's Conservatives down 2 to 34 percent.

       People across Britain last December were banned from meeting close family or friends for a traditional Christmas celebration or even bidding goodbye to their loved ones.

       The Prime Minister this week imposed new COVID restrictions on England, sparking further among Tory MPs.

       Dozens of Conservative lawmakers are planning to oppose the new rules in a vote in Parliament next week.