Boris Johnson will stand in his current seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the next election, Rishi Sunak has insisted.
The former prime minister was reportedly prepared to do a deal with Sunak which would have seen him given a safer seat to stand in.
In return, Johnson would promise not to make trouble for the PM from the backbenches.
But speaking in Scotland today, Sunak played down that suggestion when he was asked about Johnson receiving £1 million from a Tory donor.
It came amid mounting speculation that he is plotting to replace Sunak before the next election.
The prime minister said: “I’m not aware of the detail of the donation, but in general we have procedures in place to make sure all donations are declared transparently, which I’m sure is the case here, and I think the former prime minister has declared his intention to stand in his current seat in Uxbridge.”
Johnson was re-elected in 2019 with a majority of 7,210, but a poll earlier this month showed he is on course to lose it next time round.
The poll, carried out by Focaldata, suggests Keir Starmer is heading for Downing Street with a majority of around 60 seats.
That would be a dramatic turnaround from the last election, which Johnson won with a landslide 80-seat majority.
As well as the former PM, other Tories tipped to lose their seats include defence secretary Ben Wallace, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride, transport secretary Mark Harper, Scottish secretary Alister Jack and Welsh secretary David TC Davies.