DAVID Cameron compared Boris Johnson to a "greased piglet", saying he would vote for the deal on Saturday if he was still an MP.

The former PM said he would have preferred one that guaranteed a closer relationship with the EU and that would keep the UK within the customs union.

During a talk to promote his book, For The Record, in North Yorkshire on Thursday evening that was repeatedly interrupted by protesters, he called on MPs to get behind the deal.

He said: “The country voted to leave the European Union, the best way to leave is with a deal, I think a no-deal Brexit would be bad for the economy and bad for the union.

“I think it’s much better to leave with a deal, and I think Boris has done well to achieve that deal. I hope he’ll get it through parliament, I suspect he will but it will be tight.”

“The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people’s hands where mere mortals fail.”

Cameron was asked about his relationship with Johnson and whether they had nicknames for one another.

The former Tory leader said a friend had texted him earlier on Thursday to ask if the new Brexit deal would be voted through parliament, and he introduced his greased pig analogy in response.