Sunak's smoking ban is nuts, says Boris Johnson

Rishi Sunak's proposed smoking ban is "absolutely nuts" and "mad", former prime minister Boris Johnson has said.

Conservatives around the world should unite behind an "Anglo-Saxon idea of freedom", he told an event in Canada.

The UK government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill would bar anyone born after 2009 from buying cigarettes.

Mr Johnson also criticised the state of the Conservative Party, suggesting it lacked the "dynamism" of its Canadian counterpart riding high in the polls.

Mr Sunak's policy of raising the minimum age for buying tobacco every year to try to phase out smoking has provoked criticism from a number of Tories, including another former prime minister Liz Truss, on the more libertarian wing of the party.

It is likely to be the subject of a free vote for Conservatives when MPs debate the legislation for the first time next week, but is unlikely to be derailed because it is backed by the Labour Party.

Relations between the former prime minister and Mr Sunak have been cool since Mr Johnson announced he would be leaving Downing Street in July 2022.

It has been reported that Mr Johnson could return to the campaign trail in the general election expected later this year, in an effort to help revive the Conservatives' polling numbers, particularly in the "Red Wall" seats they won in 2019 in the North of England and the Midlands.

But his comments to the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference in Ottawa appeared to make this less likely as he criticised policies being carried out "in the name of conservatism".

He said: "We are, on the whole, in favour of freedom and it is that single Anglo-Saxon idea of freedom that I think unites conservatives, or should unite conservatives.

"And when I look at some of the things that we are doing now, or that are being done in the name of conservatism, I think they are absolutely nuts."

Mr Johnson singled out Mr Sunak's smoking policy, saying: "When the party of Winston Churchill wants to ban cigars, donnez-moi un break as they say in Quebec, it's just mad."

In January, Ms Truss - who was briefly prime minister after Mr Johnson - struck a similar note, arguing a Conservative government "should not be seeking to extend the nanny state".

Speaking ahead of the introduction of the bill last month, Mr Sunak said: "If we want to build a better future for our children we need to tackle the single biggest entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death: smoking."

Tackling smoking would also save the NHS billions of pounds, he added.

The law proposed by the prime minister would prevent anyone who is turning 15 this year, or younger, from ever being able to legally buy tobacco products.

It would also ministers to introduce restrictions on vape flavours and packaging targeted at children.

Shops that failed to clamp down on underage sales of tobacco and vapes could be given £100 on-the-spot fines - in addition to the £2,500 maximum fines that local councils can already impose.

A law aimed at phasing out tobacco sales was due to come into force in New Zealand in July, but was repealed by the country's new coalition government in February.