Former Prime Minister Theresa May could be set for a shock return to the post, according to a Conservative source. When Boris Johnson eventually quits as he is expected to today, she could be brought back for a caretaker role the source has reportedly said.
After a spate ministerial resignations over recent days, Mr Johnson is clinging onto power by his finger tips. However many Tories have said it was now a question of when, not if, he goes, reports the Mirror.
He is due to make an announcement late on Thursday morning in which he is expected to resign.
The crisis was sparked after he was forced to apologise for appointing Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip after it emerged he had forgotten about being told of previous allegations of "inappropriate" behaviour.
Read more: The end is nigh for Boris Johnson's premiership
It was the latest in a series of crises to hit Johnson's administration, including a damning report into parties at his Downing Street residence and office that broke strict Covid lockdown rules and saw him fined by police.
Now Ms May has been described as “uniquely placed” to stand in if the prime minister does resign or is ousted in a break from convention, a well-placed source told the Daily Mail. She was the prime minister before being replaced by Mr Johnson in 2019.
"She knows the ropes and the security stuff, she’s a party woman through and through, she’s definitely not interested in standing for it herself and would be credible," the source said. She is uniquely placed."
Another Tory MP said if it happened it would be perfect revenge for Ms May as it would have an ‘element of epic schadenfreude to it, given he knifed her in the first place’.
Meanwhile, despite the clamour for Johnson to resign, James Duddridge, a Conservative lawmaker and close aide of the PM, told Sky News the British leader "is buoyant, he is up for a fight" after a meeting with members of his top cabinet team.
He said Johnson and the newly-appointed chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, would set out a new joint plan for the economy next week which would include tax cuts. The Prime Minister has said he had a mandate from his 2019 general election win to fulfil, and it would not be responsible to walk away from the job in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and war in Europe. He has been a visible supporter of Ukraine following Russia's invasion in late February.
He has also refused to say if he would try to stay in the job even if he lost a confidence vote from his own MPs. That could come next week if they agree to change the party's rules, which only allow one such challenge a year. He narrowly won a similar vote last month.
"The prime minister is deluded if he feels he can cling on in the face of collapsed Parliamentary support," said a senior Conservative lawmaker on condition of anonymity. "He is embarrassing the Conservative Party and showing contempt for the electorate."
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