Professor Andrew Blick and Professor Lord Peter Hennessy have charted the stark decline of standards leading up to and during the years that Boris Johnson was Prime Minister and say it is part of a worrying international trend of weakening democracy.

They say the damage caused to the values and integrity of the UK constitution under Boris Johnson must be repaired to avoid a further weakening of democracy.

They have set out solutions they believe will restore public trust and halt the weakening of democracy seen in the UK in recent years.

Professor Blick, head of the Department of Political Economy at Kings College London, said: “Mechanisms for the upholding of constitutional principles in the UK are deficient and require an overhaul.

“From the outset, Boris Johnson’s tenure was a source of serious disruption, which saw standards and integrity compromised and constitutional values violated.

“Eventually, his own colleagues turned on him, but the problems do not end with Johnson’s removal. They are part of longer-term tendencies in the UK, and of a worrying international trend towards the weakening of democracy.”