Boris Johnson and wife Carrie have viewed a “magnificent” nine-bedroom Cotswolds mansion in their hunt for their forever home.
The ex-Prime Minister, who is trousering millions of pounds from giving speeches around the world, and Mrs Johnson, 34, are understood to have looked at the Georgian, Grade II-listed, detached manor house in recent weeks.
The 400-year-old property in Oxfordshire is set in nearly five acres and its online listing says it is “sold STC [subject to contract]”.
The advert invited offers “in excess of £4million”.
Mr Johnson recently pocketed £2.5m from a booking agency for speeches he is yet to give.
His spokesman declined to comment on whether the former PM had bought the house, which is close to a church and packed with period features.
The property has its own walled garden, moat and a tennis court, ideal for tennis-loving Mr Johnson, 58.
But locals fear its relatively open location could pose difficulties for those who protect Mr Johnson who, like all ex-PMs, has round-the-clock security.
Animal lovers Mr and Mrs Johnson, who have young children Wilf and Romy, were pictured at a nearby donkey sanctuary last month.
The house sits in the Wantage parliamentary constituency and is close to the Henley seat, which Mr Johnson represented as its MP from 2001-2008, when he quit to become Mayor of London.
Mr Johnson has repeatedly insisted he will stand again in his current seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, which he first won in the 2015 general election.
But his majority dipped from 10,695 in 2015 to just 7,210 at the 2019 election, fuelling claims he could launch a “chicken run” for a safe seat.
Many Tory MPs expect Mr Johnson to launch another tilt to become party leader if, as polls predict, the Conservatives are ousted from power at the next election, due by January 2025.
Revelations of his interest in property so close to his former constituency will fuel suggestions he could fight for his old seat and try to re-establish a power base.
Henley’s current Tory MP, John Howell, who held the seat with a 14,053 majority in 2019, has not confirmed whether he will stand again.
Quizzed about his future earlier this month, he said: “I am not commenting at the moment. It will be a decision that I make at a later date.”
Asked whether Mr Johnson could come back if he did stand down, he replied: “I sincerely hope not.”
Shamed Mr Johnson faces gruelling evidence sessions this spring when he is hauled before the Commons Privileges Committee as MPs probe allegations he misled Parliament over Partygate revelations, which Mr Johnson denies.
