Boris Johnson missed a key vote on keeping Liz Truss in a job tonight because he is on holiday in the Caribbean.
The chillaxing former Prime Minister has not turned up to vote in Parliament since July despite claiming a £84,144 backbench MP salary.
And he missed a vote over a row about fracking due to being on a family holiday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Tory whips declared the issue a “confidence motion”, which meant it was necessary to ensure the government’s survival - and MPs who did not back it would lose the whip.
Only minutes before the vote did the government say it wasn't a confidence issue after all, prompting chaotic scenes.
His pal and former No10 aide Andrew Gilligan told radio station LBC today: “He’s on holiday at the moment, he’s in the Caribbean.
“So I think he’s probably enjoying himself quite a lot.”
Tory whips told MPs the vote on fracking “is a confidence motion in the government”, adding: “This is a hard 3 line whip with all slips withdrawn.”
But it’s understood Mr Johnson was “paired” - which is different to being “slipped” - with a Labour MP who could not attend the vote, allowing him to skip it without losing the whip.
It is not known how long his trip has lasted - but Mr Johnson was said to be on a family holiday on the other side of the Atlantic eight days earlier.
He gave a speech at an insurance conference in Colorado Springs on October 11 which is said to have paid £135,000.
And his wife Carrie posted a photo of herself on social media on a paddle board in azure waters on October 6, without saying where she was.
It means Mr Johnson has been absent from Parliament while it is sitting - and while his successor’s government is in a state of collapse.
A source close to Mr Johnson did not deny Mr Gilligan’s claim that he was in the Caribbean, nor that the trip had gone on for more than a week.
It is thought Mr Johnson paid for the trip himself, almost three years after an investigation into how his 2019 holiday to the Caribbean island of Mustique was funded.
A friend of the former PM told the Mirror he had been insisting “back Liz!” in private.
But some Tories have touted Mr Johnson for a surprise comeback to replace Ms Truss despite the fact he was ousted in a string of scandals.
Mr Gilligan told LBC: “I saw a poll of Tory members that showed he was the most popular candidate to replace Liz Truss, and he’s got to be looking at those numbers with interest.
“I haven’t talked to him about them and I think at the moment his position is going to be ‘I don’t want to go anywhere near it’.”
Labour used an opposition day debate on Wednesday to put forward a motion which, if passed, would guarantee time in the Commons for a Bill to ban fracking for good.
Ms Truss has been criticised for scrapping her party's election pledge not to allow fracking until it can definitively be shown not to cause earthquakes. She instead said it would be allowed if there is approval in the surrounding area - without explaining how this will be measured.
The Prime Minister's net-zero tsar said he will not vote with the Government on fracking - and was prepared to lose the whip.
Chris Skidmore tweeted "As the former energy minister who signed Net Zero into law, for the sake of our environment and climate, I cannot personally vote tonight to support fracking and undermine the pledges I made at the 2019 general election.
"I am prepared to face the consequences of my decision.''
He was backed by fellow Tories Angela Richardson and Tracey Crouch.
