Boris Johnson opposes the Tory grassroots campaign attempting to keep him in power and wants it to “stop”, his closest ally says.
Nadine Dorries also ridiculed a claim that the outgoing prime minister is seeking a safer constituency, as a possible power base for reviving his career, as “100 per cent nuclear grade tosh”.
But the culture secretary declined to say Mr Johnson will never attempt to launch a comeback, saying: “Who knows what the future will hold?”
A petition organised by the Conservative donor and peer Peter Cruddas is campaigning for party members to be given a vote on whether the prime minister should lose the party leadership.
It claims to have gained around 14,000 signatures, although Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ) has yet to check whether they are all members, amid great scepticism.
Asked about the campaign, Ms Dorries referred to a conversation she had with Mr Johnson about the issue “a few days ago”.
“He said, just in passing, ‘if you hear anything about these people tell them to stop, it’s not right’. So they were his words, his exact words,” she told BBC Radio 4.
The culture secretary said she is reconciled to the change in leadership on 6 September – despite condemning “a ruthless coup led largely by Rishi Sunak” – and is backing Liz Truss.
But, asked about a Johnson comeback, Ms Dorries said: “They used to say a week was a long time in politics but, you know, a few minutes is a long time these days.
“Who knows? Who is going to be foolish enough to sit here and predict the future?”
Ms Dorries’ claim about Mr Johnson’s view of the grassroots campaign to save him contradicts what Lord Cruddas said the prime minister told him at Chequers last week.
He was reported as saying: “There was no ambiguity in Boris’s views. He definitely does not want to resign. He wants to carry on and he believes that, with the membership behind him, he can.”
The peer told The Daily Telegraph: “Boris thanked me for ‘Boris on the ballot’ campaign. He said he was enjoying following it and he wished me well.
“He said he could understand the membership’s anger at what had happened. He said that he wished that he could carry on as prime minister. He said he does not want to resign.”
The Mirror claimed Mr Johnson is on the hunt for a safer seat, although many MPs expect him to quit parliament soon after leaving No 10 in order to make big money without the ned to declare it.
He represents Uxbridge and South Ruislip, on the outskirts of London, where he had a majority of 7,210 at the last election but where he is vulnerable to a big swing to Labour.
