Matt Hancock is desperately trying to cling onto his political career after finishing third in I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
The disgraced former Health Secretary wants to remain at Westminster when he returns from filming the ITV show in Australia, according to his spokesman.
He claimed: “Matt has no intention of standing down or stepping away from politics.”
The MP was stripped of the Tory whip after abandoning his West Suffolk constituents and jetting Down Under for the programme where he munched on camel penis and cow anus.
Furious Business Secretary Grant Shapps said Mr Hancock's stint in the jungle suggested he had given up hope of reviving his political career.
"Why would you go off and spend all that time in the jungle if you were going to carry on in Parliament? I'm only speculating,” said Mr Shapps.
"But I do think the right place for him to be is in Parliament looking after his constituents.
"It's a very hard job to do if you're completely out of touch, and I think he may therefore have come to the conclusion that his parliamentary career is pretty much done."
Mr Shapps said his former Cabinet colleagues should have been in Parliament and serving his constituents rather than taking part in a reality TV show.
"It's often said that... politics is showbusiness for ugly people," he said. "He should be with us uglies back in the House rather than the jungle Down Under."
In his exit interview with hosts Ant and Dec, Mr Hancock insisted he had every right to go on the show and said he wanted to "show what he was like as a person" and move past people's "preconceived ideas" of him.
He added: "Politicians don't come across as human enough and I wanted to show who I am."
Mr Hancock is expected to return to the UK to face the music shortly after nearly three weeks on the show.
He faces a battle to regain the whip - and appease his angry constituents - if he wants to stand as a Conservative MP in the next election.
Tory MPs have been told to inform party bosses by December 5 if they want to stand again but it is understood that this isn't a hard deadline.
Mr Hancock 's much-touted private member's bill on dyslexia is due in the Commons on Friday. Raising awareness of dyslexia was one of the reasons he went on the show according to his spokesman - although he only mentioned it a handful of times.
Former Lioness Jill Scott was crowned the winner of this year's contest with 57.7% of the public vote, while Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner got 42.3%.
Mr Hancock was eliminated from the final during the first round of voting last night, earning 21.7% of the public vote, while Warner claimed 31% and Scott 47.3%.
