Shamed Boris Johnson is being tipped to make a sensational bid to return as Prime Minister - supposedly in the “national interest”.
The former premier has missed the collapse of his successor Liz Truss after just 44 days because he is on holiday in the Caribbean.
Now he is said to be preparing a bid to run for a return to Downing Street less than two months after he was ousted over a string of scandals, from Partygate to sleaze.
The Daily Telegraph, who Mr Johnson once described as his “real boss” and where he worked as a columnist, has reported that he is expected to stand. The Times has reported the same fact.
A friend of Boris Johnson told the Mirror they did not know if he was planning to stand but added: "You know what he says about the ball coming loose in the scrum.
“I think it would be in character if he did."
But Theresa May took a barely-veiled swipe at him, tweeting: "The Prime Minister is right to provide a roadmap for an orderly transition. MPs must now be prepared to compromise. It is our duty to provide sensible, competent government at this critical moment for our country."
The Conservative MP John Baron also told the BBC PM programme that he would find it "impossible" to serve under Mr Johnson if he returned to No 10. "That ship has sailed," he said.
"There's an outstanding Committee on Privileges investigation. I believe - rightly or wrongly - he misled Parliament on a number of occasions. We have to look forward not back."
In a massively sped-up process the next Tory leader will be in place by next Friday - ramping up furious calls for an election.
But a high threshold of 100 MP nominees will reduce Mr Johnson's chance of getting on the ballot when nominations close on Monday.
Lobby Akinnola, spokesperson for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign said: "It’s devastating for bereaved families to think that anyone in the Conservative party is considering bringing Boris Johnson back as PM. This is the man who oversaw the deaths of 200,000 British citizens to Covid-19 on his watch… The man who joked about ‘letting the bodies pile high’ while he refused to learn lessons from the first wave and let even more people die in the second."
In his final speech as PM on September 6, Mr Johnson compared himself to 5th Century Roman politician Cincinnatus - who stepped down from political life to return to his farm but was recalled to serve a second time to suppress a popular uprising.
"Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough. I will be offering this Government nothing but the most fervent support," he said, before not turning up to any votes since Liz Truss was elected.
Mr Johnson's former parliamentary private secretary James Duddridge tweeted: "I hope you enjoyed your holiday boss. Time to come back. Few issues at the office that need addressing. #bringbackboris."
But Tory MP Sir Robert Syms tweeted: "Boris is a fantasy.
"The number for nomination will be lifted to limit runners and there will be massive pressure on the 2nd candidate in MPs ballot to drop out!"
Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems Daisy Cooper said: “The fact that Conservative MPs are even considering putting Boris Johnson back in Number 10 shows how out of touch they really are. They think there’s one rule for them and another for everyone else.
“Boris Johnson was forced to resign in disgrace after countless lies, scandals and failures. He shattered public trust in the government and plunged the UK into a political crisis. He must never be allowed near Downing Street again.
“The future of our country should be in the hands of voters, not the Conservative MPs who have caused all this chaos.”
Mr Johnson missed a key vote on keeping Liz Truss in a job last night because he is on holiday in the Caribbean.
The chillaxing former Prime Minister has not turned up to vote in Parliament since July despite claiming a £84,144 backbench MP salary.
And he missed a vote over a row about fracking - which Tory whips declared a “confidence motion”, meaning the government’s survival hinges on it - due to being on a family holiday.
His pal and former No10 aide Andrew Gilligan told radio station LBC yesterday: “He’s on holiday at the moment he’s in the Caribbean.
“So I think he’s probably enjoying himself quite a lot.”
It is not known how long his trip has lasted - but Mr Johnson was said to be on a family holiday on the other side of the Atlantic eight days earlier.
He gave a speech at an insurance conference in Colorado Springs on October 11 which is said to have paid £135,000.
His wife Carrie also posted a photo of herself on social media on a paddle board in azure waters on October 6, without saying where she was.
A source close to Mr Johnson did not deny Mr Gilligan’s claim that he was in the Caribbean, nor that the trip had gone on for more than a week.
It is thought Mr Johnson paid for the trip himself, almost three years after an investigation into how his 2019 holiday to the Caribbean island of Mustique was funded.
It comes after a well-placed Westminster insider told the Sunday Mirror in August that the lame-duck Tory leader is determined to make a comeback.
He and his supporters were said to be “delusional” about his prospects of winning another General Election - after his popularity tanked in the polls.
But the source said a disastrous first few months of a Liz Truss premiership would be seen as an opportunity for him to swoop in.
"It sounds far-fetched but I wouldn't put it past him. He feels hard done by and thinks he still had a lot to do,” a source added.
It comes after party chiefs confirmed Britain’s next Tory Prime Minister will be in place in just a WEEK - just in time for Halloween.
Liz Truss today resigned as Prime Minister after the pressure from her own party over weeks of chaos became too much to bear.
The Tory leader stepped down just 44 days after entering 10 Downing Street after a shambolic week that saw two resignations from great offices of state.
New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt tore up £32billion of her tax cut plans and shredded her plan to cap the average energy bill at £2,500 a year.
Details are still being thrashed out and are very uncertain. But early indications are Tory members will vote on a new leader in a lightning-fast process.
1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady said the plan is to “make the whole thing happen” with a ballot concluding by next Friday, October 28.
That means a new leader will be in place in time for the fiscal plan - which was due to announce billions in spending cuts - on Monday 31 October.
A Treasury source confirmed the plan is still to hold the fiscal statement on October 31.
But ultimately whether it still contains Jeremy Hunt’s sweeping spending cuts will be up to the new Prime Minister.
And this chaotic change of leadership will ramp up furious calls for the Tories to let the country decide their leader in a general election.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said: "We can't just allow the Tory party to keep putting up the next candidate in the middle of this chaos.
"There is a choice, there's a Labour Party that's capable of stabilising the economy, has a clear plan and the public are entitled to choose between that stable Labour government and this utter chaos.
"We are ready to form a government, to stabilise the economy and implement a real plan for growth, for living standards, to help people through a cost-of-living crisis."
