Michael Gove has admitted "moral cowardice" over the role he played in the Vote Leave campaign.
He said he should have been "clearer earlier" with David Cameron about the prominent role he took in the campaign, adding that the former Prime Minister would have "expected me to be more upfront".
Speaking to the Political Currency podcast, hosted by George Osborne and Ed Balls, the Levelling Up Secretary said he was convinced to take a prominent role in the Vote Leave campaign by Dominic Cummings, who was the campaign coordinator.
Osborne asked him: "Did you deceive David? […] He certainly felt betrayed."
The Levelling Up Secretary said he was convinced to take a prominent role in the Vote Leave campaign by Dominic Cummings, who was the campaign coordinator
Gove, who served in Cameron's Cabinet at the time, denied having deceived the then PM, but admitted that he ended up "going further" in the campaign than he initially anticipated, by taking part in debates and TV shows.
He added: "And I think that was an example of on the one hand, cowardice on my part, moral cowardice … on the other hand, a recognition that perhaps there’s this feeling in politics, perhaps something will turn up, perhaps this moment won’t come when we have to make that decision.
"But I think David, entirely fairly, should have expected me to have been more upfront earlier."
Gove also told the podcast that he decided to run to be leader of the Tory Party after he lost confidence in Boris Johnson's ability to do the role.
He claimed he began having doubts after Boris Johnson and his team were "relaxing in the sun" at a barbecue at his house, rather than preparing for the consequences of leaving the EU.
The MP said: "I wanted to believe, and did believe, that Boris had grown during the referendum campaign and was ready.
Gove also told the podcast that he decided to run to be leader of the Tory Party after he lost confidence in Boris Johnson's ability to do the role
PA
"And then I lost confidence in the judgment that he had changed sufficiently and was sufficiently ready.
"And I thought, I can’t, in all honesty, recommend him, to the British people, and say, he’s now ready to be prime minister."
Osborne said the day the UK voted to leave the EU was "an absolute disaster" for his career, describing it as being "traumatic".
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He said: "I didn’t wake anyone up, I just went and lay on the sofa wide awake.
"And not only did I think, as I still do, this is a disaster for my country, I just knew it was an absolute disaster for my career, it was basically the end of my political career.
"It’s definitely, of my political career – of any part of my career – the most traumatic day of my life."
