THE former environment minister Theresa Villiers has been cut from the Intelligence Committee after defying the Tory whip by trying to prevent chlorinated chicken being brought into the UK after Brexit.

The MP was due to sit on the powerful committee, but has now been axed by the Prime Minister for her disloyalty.

Villiers was one of 18 Tory MPs who did not support the Tory Government three-line whip on the Agriculture Bill.

According to The Times, Boris Johnson now wants Chris Grayling (below) to chair the committee.

The National: Transport Secretary Chris Grayling

The group is currently sitting on a report on Russian interference in UK politics, and links between Moscow and the Tories – its release has been delayed for months.

Villiers was dropped after voting in favour of an amendment which would have banned chlorinated chicken from coming into the UK as part of a trade deal with the US.

Outlining her opposition to chlorine washes, she has said: “Much debate has centred on the UK/EU ban on the import of chlorinated chicken. While the science is disputed, there can be little doubt that chlorine, and other disinfectant washes deployed at the end of production, are used to compensate for poor hygiene during rearing and slaughter.

“Such washes have been banned in the UK since the 1980s, because our approach has been to require higher hygiene standards at all stages of production.

“This is a far more effective way to protect human health and also promotes better animal welfare and lower use of antibiotics.”

More than one million people in the UK have signed a petition seeking to ban the importation of food currently illegal to produce here after Brexit.

There are fears that farmers and standards could be undermined by imported products like chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef.

Tory Environment Secretary George Eustice has insisted the Government will protect food and welfare standards in post-Brexit trade deals.