Boris Johnson’s dad has said he is “on a plane” back from his Caribbean holiday as MPs call for him to return to No.10.
Stanley Johnson backed his son making a return and argued against going to the public at a general election.
It comes as a number of Tory MPs have publicly called for Johnson to run for leader after Liz Truss made a dramatic exit.
They include cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg who tweeted a graphic with the caption: “I’m backing Boris. #BORISorBUST”
Meanwhile, defence secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News he “leans towards” Johnson as the person who can “win elections”.
Asked if his son wanted to make a comeback, Stanley told Good Morning Britain: “Look I think he’s on a plane as I understand it. Coming back? He is coming back - from wherever he is.”
Asked if his son was returning from his holiday early, Stanley replied: “I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you, honestly.”
Last night Stanley said he hoped his son would run, adding: “He’s going to be crucial in uniting these warring parts of the Tory party.”
Just six weeks after he left Downing Street - forced out by his own MPs - allies are now urging Johnson to run again.
If he does run, Johnson is likely to find himself up against former chancellor Rishi Sunak and the leader of the House Penny Mordaunt.
However, such a move would be highly divisive within the Tory Party amid threats from some MPs that they would resign the whip and sit as independents.
Johnson’s backers say he is the only candidate who won a general election and has a mandate from the British public.
He will need to secure the nominations of 100 of the party’s 357 MPs.
There has been no word from Johnson who has been holidaying in the Caribbean with his family.
Loyalist Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, said she had spoken to him following Truss’s resignation and hinted that he was preparing to run.
“He is a known winner and that is certainly who I’m putting my name against because I want us to win the general election. Having a winner in place is what the party needs to survive,” she told Sky News.
Another Tory MP said Johnson could prevent the party from being “completely wiped out” at the next general election.
Peterborough MP Paul Bristow told BBC Breakfast: “We’re facing a crisis as a party. We could go down and be completely wiped out without Boris Johnson as our prime minister…
“Boris Johnson has a mandate from the members of the party and from the electorate. I’m sure my colleagues will reflect on that when they vote, and we can avoid a general election, we can go out and put this band back together, we can have political heavyweights around that Cabinet table and we can go on and win the next general election. I’m convinced of that”.
Another Conservative MP Karl McCartney said Johnson was the party’s “best electoral asset”, telling the BBC: “I think the Labour Party and some of the media did a credible hatchet job over six months and got rid of our best electoral asset.
“In the marginal seat of Lincoln I know that my majority, which is the largest it has ever been after 2019, was because Boris Johnson was the prime minister and was the leader of our party that was the most credible person at the time to get the majority.”
For critics, a comeback would be particularly problematic as Johnson still faces an investigation by the Commons Privileges Committee over claims he lied to parliament over lockdown parties in Downing Street, which could potentially see him expelled as an MP.