BORIS Johnson has been hailed as potentially a “great Prime Minister” by President Trump’s former chief strategist, as cabinet splits emerged over the deepening burka row.

Steve Bannon, who is schooling far-right movements across Europe and has been in touch with Mr Johnson in recent weeks, said the former Foreign Secretary should not “bow at the altar of political correctness” by apologising.

However a Tory peer and former advisor to David Cameron savaged Mr Johnson, accusing him of “casual racism”, “courting fascism” and a life-long “moral emptiness”.

The comments followed fellow Brexiter MP Jacob Rees-Mogg claiming Mr Johnson was being lined up for a “show trial” by Theresa May because of her “personal rivalry” with him.

The row, sparked last Monday by Mr Johnson likening Muslim women wearing the burka and niqab to “letter boxes” and bank robbers”, shows signs of splitting the Conservative party and hastening a leadership challenge against Mrs May.

Four cabinet ministers criticised the party’s decision to investigate whether Mr Johnson broke the Tory party code of conduct with an eye to disciplining him.

Tory chairman Brandon Lewis and Mrs May have both urged Mr Johnson to apologise for his comments in a Telegraph column, but the Uxbridge & South Ruislip MP has refused.

The Sunday Times quoted one cabinet minister saying Tory HQ’s response had been “cack-handed”, as most party members agreed with Mr Johnson; another minister called it “a total cock-up from start to finish” which had damaged the party.

A ComRes poll for the Sunday Express found 53 per cent of people oppose Mr Johnson being punished, compared to 40 per cent who wanted him disciplined.

However there was a sharp age divide - most people below 35 wanted him punished, while three quarters of pensioners - the bedrock of Tory members - support Mr Johnson.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Mr Bannon, who masterminded Mr Trump’s presidential bid and served in the White House until last year, said there was “obviously a need for a more populist party in the UK”, but denied Mr Johnson was pitching for populist vote.

He said Mr Johnson had not been arguing for a ban on the burka, only saying it was oppressive, but “the substance got lost because of the throwaway line”.

He went on: “I consider Boris Johnson someone who understands the physics in the ebb and flow of events. Those individuals are rare.

“I'm not sure Boris is using the Trump playbook so much as giving the people what they want - authenticity. Boris just needs to be Boris - true to his nature and his calling - and I think he has potential to be a great prime minister, not a good one."

Mr Bannon also praised former football hooligan, mortgage fraudster and English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson as a “force of nature” and a “movement in and of himself”.

But Lord Cooper, a former aide to David Cameron, said: “The rottenness of Boris Johnson goes even deeper than his casual racism & his equally casual courting of fascism.

“He will advocate literally anything to play to the crowd of the moment. His career is a saga of moral emptiness & lies; pathetic, weak & needy; the opposite of strong.”

Damian Green, former deputy PM to Mrs May, said he feared Mr Johnson “being turned into a martyr” by the far right, leading to “disaster” for him and the Tories.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said: “I hope that no Conservative politician, including Boris, is taking advice from [Steve Bannon] about how the Conservative Party should behave."

The Muslim Council of Britain said Mr Johnson’s remarks had “shone a light on the underbelly of Islamophobia” in the Conservatives.

There were also reports Mr Johnson is planning an autumn tilt at the Tory leadership, possibly with former Brexit Secretary David Davis as a caretaker PM first.

Mr Johnson said nothing as he returned from a trip to Italy on Saturday, but is due to write another column for the Telegraph on Monday.

In the Sunday Telegraph, his father Stanley Johnson said his son had been “spot on” with his burka comments, and said he would have “gone a bit further” and backed a partial ban.

He said: “Yes, Boris used some colourful language. That's called 'freedom of speech' or it was in my day.

“Why the all furore? Why has this disastrous 'blue-on-blue' warfare broken out? If that isn't an own-goal, I don't know what is. Mr Corbyn must be rubbing his hands with glee.”