The Telegraph reported that in a conversation with former treasurer Peter Cruddas, Boris Johnson said he wishes he could “wipe away” his departure.
As per the report, Johnson also told Cruddas over lunch on Friday that he “wants to fight the next general election as leader of the Conservative Party.”
The report quoted Cruddas as saying “There was no ambiguity in Boris’s views. He definitely does not want to resign. He wants to carry on and he believes that, with the membership behind him, he can.”
The report, which has been published before Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak’s TV debate, sheds light on discredited Johnson’s views after he quit as party leader in July following months of uncertainty and drama due to his involvement in scandals.
Johnson remains caretaker prime minister until his successor is chosen by about 180,000 Conservative Party members will vote over the summer with the result announced on September 5.
In order to woo Conservatives, both Truss and Sunak have doubled down on policies thought to appeal to the Tory grassroots including a contentious deal agreed by the Johnson government with Rwanda to send some migrants who arrive in Britain in small boats on a one-way trip to the East African nation.
With Truss promising immediate tax cuts, both opponents have already clashed over economic policy amid a cost-of-living crisis driven by soaring food and energy prices.
Britain is experiencing economic turbulence partly due to the war in Ukraine and its departure from the European Union.
Highlighting that China represents the “biggest-long term threat to Britain,” Sunak has vowed that if he is elected he would close the 30 Confucius Institutes in the UK.
(With inputs from agencies)
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