Allies of Boris Johnson urged him to mount a stunning political comeback on Thursday after the dramatic resignation of UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Only 105 days after the mutiny that forced him out, Mr Johnson was said to be taking soundings about entering the looming Conservative leadership race.
Mr Johnson made little secret of his resentment at being forced out and speculation was rife, even before Ms Truss's implosion, that he longed for a comeback.
“He's a winner and the only MP with legitimacy having been overwhelmingly elected by the country,” said one Johnson loyalist, Michael Fabricant.
“He may not be the first choice of MPs — I may be wrong — but he most certainly is amongst the membership.”
Another MP, Stephen McPartland, said his inbox was “inundated with local people saying we must bring back Boris”.
But other Tory MPs were far from enthusiastic. Sir Robert Syms said Mr Johnson was “not a serious candidate”, while Justin Tomlinson said a comeback was “wishful thinking”.
“I just think it’s too soon. I was there supporting him to the very end but he did lose the confidence of the majority of our colleagues,” Mr Tomlinson told Sky News.
Boris Johnson through the years — in pictures
-
Boris Johnson has had an eventful time during his life in politics and journalism. Here, 'The National' looks back at his life in pictures. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson attends the coronation ceremony of Britain's King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in May. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson leaves his home to attend a televised evidence session in March in front of the Commons Privileges Committee. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson listening to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address parliamentarians in Westminster Hall in February. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and Carrie Johnson arrive at Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson he announces his resignation as prime minister outside 10 Downing Street in July 2022. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson at a press conference in response to the publication of the Sue Gray report into Partygate at Downing Street in May 2022. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson reads the long-awaited report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into the Downing Street party scandal, in his Downing Street office in May 2022. Photo: Downing Street -
Mr Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in central Kyiv in April 2022. The British prime minister paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv in a show of solidarity with Ukraine. AFP -
Mr Johnson watches an early morning police raid on a home in Liverpool as part of an operation to thwart drug dealing, in December, 2021. Getty Images -
The prime minister battles with his umbrella while with Prince Charles at The National Memorial Arboretum in July 2021, in Stafford, England. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and his wife before the Uefa European Championship final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium, London, in July last year. Getty Images -
The British prime minister with US President Joe Biden, European Council President Charles Michel, former Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi during the G7 Summit in Cornwall, in June 2021. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson with his wife Carrie in the garden of 10 Downing Street after their wedding at Westminster Cathedral, in May last year. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson visits Hartlepool after Conservative Party candidate Jill Mortimer won a parliamentary by-election in May, 2021. Getty Images -
The prime minister after receiving the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine at St Thomas' Hospital in London in March, 2021. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson after signing a Brexit trade deal with the EU in December 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson examines a vial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 candidate vaccine, at a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wrexham, Wales, in November 2020. Getty -
Mr Johnson demonstrating the two-metre distancing rule during his visit to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Upminster, East London, in August 2020. PA -
In this photo, published alongside the Sue Gray report into the Partygate affair, Mr Johnson is seen at a gathering in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street on his birthday in June, 2020. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and former chancellor Rishi Sunak use hand sanitiser during a visit to the Pizza Pilgrims restaurant in June 2020, in east London, to see how they are getting their business ready to reopen as coronavirus lockdown restrictions were lifted in England. PA -
Mr Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds applaud key workers outside 10 Downing Street in May 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson in the Cabinet Room observing a minute's silence in April 2020 in a tribute to the health staff and key workers who died during the coronavirus outbreak. PA -
Boris Johnson appears on monitors for a meeting in March 2020. The prime minister chaired morning meetings on the coronavirus remotely from Number 11 Downing Street, while self-isolating after testing positive for the virus. Reuters -
Members of a family listen as BMr ris Johnson makes a televised address to the nation from 10 Downing Street in March 2020, where he outlined the latest instructions to stay at home to help contain the Covid-19 outbreak. AFP -
Mr Johnson speaks to British troops stationed in Estonia during a one-day visit to the Baltic country in December 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson and Carrie Symonds enter Downing Street as the Conservatives celebrate a sweeping election victory in December 2019. Getty -
Boris Johnson is greeted by staff at 10 Downing Street after meeting Queen Elizabeth II and accepting her invitation to form a new government in December 2012. PA -
Former US president Donald Trump and Mr Johnson arrive for a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit in August 2019 in Biarritz, France. Getty -
The queen welcomes Mr Johnson as the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party, during an audience in July 2019. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson, then Britain's foreign secretary, stands in front of St Basil's Cathedral during a visit to Moscow's Red Square in December 2017. Getty -
Mr Johnson collides with a child during a Street Rugby tournament in Tokyo in 2015, held to mark Japan hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup -
As mayor of London Mr Johnson competes in a tug-of-war in October 2015. Getty Images -
The Olympic Flag is passed from Mr Johnson to IOC President Jacques Rogge during the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Getty Images -
Mayor of London Boris Johnson with Prime Minister David Cameron during the lighting of the Paralympic Cauldron in Trafalgar Square, in August 2012. PA -
Boris Johnson gets stuck on a zip-line during a BT London Live event in Victoria Park in August 2012. Getty -
Mr Johnson and Lord Sebastian Coe cheer as a giant set of Olympic rings is displayed from Tower Bridge in June 2012, Getty Images -
Mr Johnson gestures attends a Harry Potter studio tour of Diagon Alley, at the Warner Brother Studios, London, in December 2011. AP Photo -
Mr Johnson at the launch of London's first cycle hire scheme in July 2010. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson with artists' impressions of the design for London's new Routemaster bus in May 2010. Getty Images -
The candidates to be mayor of London; Labour's Ken Livingstone, Conservative Boris Johnson and Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick, being questioned on BBC's 'Newsnight' programme in April 2008. Getty Images -
Boris Johnson on the North Pier in Blackpool during the Conservative Party conference there in October 2005. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson at his desk in 2000 while he was a journalist for 'The Telegraph'. Getty Images -
Mr Johnson when he was president of the Oxford Union society speaking to the Greek minister for culture Melina Mercouri when she addressed the union. Reuters -
Boris Johnson in September 1979, at Eton School. Shutterstock
Known for his colourful rhetoric and attention-grabbing antics, Mr Johnson led the Conservatives to a landslide general election victory in 2019.
He counted among his achievements the end of the three-year Brexit stalemate, the vaccination programme against Covid-19 and a close alliance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But his premiership was dogged by scandals, most notably the Partygate affair, which saw him fined by police for breaking Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
The relentless distractions wore down the patience of MPs, the public and ultimately his own ministers, who forced him out by resigning en masse in July.
He announced his resignation after conceding that he no longer had the confidence of the Tory benches.
However, he remained popular with much of the party grassroots and hinted at a comeback in his farewell speech in Downing Street, a mere six weeks ago.
Ms Truss succeeded him on a platform of cutting taxes and boosting economic growth, but her plans backfired when the financial markets went into near-meltdown. '
With the Tories now in dire straits in the polls, Mr Johnson is seen in some quarters as the party's only hope of winning the next election.
He has largely stayed out of the public eye since leaving office, except when paying tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
A YouGov poll conducted this week showed that 32 per cent of Tory members would choose Mr Johnson to succeed Ms Truss.
Whether he can pull off a comeback is less clear. Many MPs are keen for a smooth succession to restore unity, and a Johnson return would be sure to produce division.
The rules for the leadership election have not yet been set, but rule-maker Sir Graham Brady may set a high threshold for MPs to enter the race.
Opposition MPs, who are calling for an early general election, were quick to say that Mr Johnson should not return.
Some Labour MPs pointed out that he still faces an investigation into whether he misled the House of Commons during the Partygate scandal.
“He shattered public trust in the government and plunged the UK into a political crisis. He must never be allowed near Downing Street again,” said Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper.
Although comebacks by former prime ministers were once fairly common, only two have returned to Downing Street since the Second World War.
Wartime leader Winston Churchill returned for a second spell in 1951, while Labour's Harold Wilson served two separate terms in the 1960s and 1970s.
