Now Boris Johnson backed for return by Tory minister after Rishi Sunak opens door

Boris Johnson has been backed for a sensational comeback by a Tory minister after Rishi Sunak opened the door to a return.

Science minister Andrew Griffith said the former Prime Minister is a “great voice” and that the Conservatives “desperately” need to warn against Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer taking power.

Mr Griffith told LBC: “Boris is a great voice. I hope we’ve got many great voices.

“And we desperately need to get the message out that it is not a good time to go back to square one.

“We have taken a lot of tough decisions over the last 18 months. I know that has been very hard for people. It comes on the back of Covid and the war in Ukraine.

“So come back anybody who’s got a strong voice who can call out the danger of Keir Starmer.”

His comments come after the Prime Minister left open the option of a comeback by his former boss.

Asked by ITV if he would have the ex-PM back in his Cabinet, Mr Sunak replied: “I’m proud of the work that we did together. And we worked well together for a long time. In the end there are, you know, well-documented differences…”

Pressed again, he added: “Well, I never talk about these personnel things, but look, I, you know, I speak to him on an occasion.”

Mr Sunak’s resignation as Chancellor in July 2022 was viewed as instrumental in spelling the end of Mr Johnson’s premiership.

It triggered a wave of further resignations over the next 48 hours.