A Braintree councillor has been accused of leaking comments made by Boris Johnson undermining the Prime Minister over Brexit.

Stephen Canning (Independent, Bocking Blackwater) has been accused by the Foreign Secretary’s allies of recording his comments at a dinner party attended by MPs and party donors.

In his comments, Mr Johnson warned of a Brexit “meltdown” and even claimed Donald Trump would do a better job of negotiating than Theresa May.

Mr Canning has strongly denied claims he was the source of the recording.

Speaking to The Times, he said: “I was privileged to be at the dinner and did not record it, nor pass on any recording.

“I took a photo on my phone so I could tweet about how enjoyable the dinner had been.

“My focus is, as it has been since 2011, to ensure I represent the concerns of the residents of Bocking to the best of my ability.”

Over the weekend a photograph emerged of Mr Canning at the dinner party, which shows him seated nearby to Mr Johnson with his phone in his hand.

Leader of Braintree Council Graham Butland defended Mr Canning on Twitter after the accusations were repeated by Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West.