The UK’s drugs czar, who was sacked for publicly criticising government policy, has branded Gordon Brown and his cabinet "irrational Luddites".

Professor David Nutt, who was dismissed as chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) yesterday after he claimed that illegal drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy are less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, is warning that more senior scientific advisors are set to walk out over the row over drug classification.

He was asked to resign by Home Secretary Alan Johnson, who claimed he has "lost confidence" in the expert’s political impartiality.

Today, Professor Nutt claimed Gordon Brown’s government was alienating themselves from the scientific community appointed to advise them.

He said: "Gordon Brown makes completely irrational statements about cannabis being 'lethal', which it is not.

“He is the first Prime Minister, this is the first Government, that has ever in the history of the Misuse of Drugs Act gone against the advice of its scientific panel.

“And then it did it again with ecstasy, and I have to say, it’s not about [me] overstepping the line, it’s about the Government overstepping the line.

“They are making scientific decisions before they’ve even consulted with their experts.”

Professor Nutt, who has been a vocal critic of the Government’s reclassification of cannabis from Class C back to Class B, claims that many of the other 30 members of the drugs advisory council could also be set to resign.

“I know that my committee was very, very upset by the attitude the Prime Minister took over cannabis. We actually formally wrote to him to complain about it.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them stepped down. Maybe all of them will. I'm not prepared to mislead the public about the harmfulness of drugs like cannabis and ecstasy.

"I think most scientists will see this as a further example of the Luddite attitude of this Government, and possible future governments.”

Professor Nutt’s sacking came after he used a lecture at King’s College, London, and a briefing paper, to attack what he called the “artificial” separation of alcohol and tobacco from illegal drugs.

He had previously claimed that the risks of taking Class A drug ecstasy were no greater than those of frequent horse riding.

In a letter to the professor, Mr Johnson accused him of crossing the line from evidence-based scientist to political activist.

He wrote: “It is important that the Government’s messages on drugs are clear and as an adviser you do nothing to undermine the public understanding of them.

“As my lead adviser on drugs harms, I am afraid the manner in which you have acted runs contrary to your responsibilities.

“I cannot have public confusion between scientific advice and policy and have therefore lost confidence in your ability to advise me as chair of the ACMD.”

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