A NORTH Yorkshire MP says that if Boris Johnson decides to put himself forward to become Prime Minister again, he would 'back him fully and help him achieve that.'

Selby & Ainsty Tory MP Nigel Adams says he has received many emails and messages from constituents who did not want Johnson to go in the first place, and many more wanting him back now that Liz Truss is standing down. 

He said: "He is the only candidate that has a mandate from the British public having won a landslide wlection victory less than three years ago.

"If any other candidate takes over, the calls for an early general election will be deafening."

He said the Labour Party had been 'incredibly cocky' over the last few days because they had been ahead in the polls.

"They and some of their media friends are terrified of Boris because he is a winner and they know it," he claimed.

"It is now up to Boris to decide whether he wants to put his name forward and serve our great country again."

However, Mr Adams' views are not shared by all of his colleagues.

Veteran backbencher Sir Roger Gale, a long-time critic of Mr Johnson, warned that if he succeeds he could be met with a wave of resignations by Tory MPs.

“I think that there would be people, indeed like myself, who would find ourselves in the awful position of having to resign the Conservative whip,” he told Times Radio.

Tory MP Crispin Blunt – the first to publicly call for Ms Truss to go – argued Mr Johnson was not the person to restore the reputation of the Conservative Party, as he called for Rishi Sunak to take over as leader.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who called for an immediate general election, said the potential return of a man deemed “unfit for office” by his own MPs “adds insult to injury” for voters.

For critics, a comeback would be particularly problematic as Mr Johnson still faces an investigation by the Commons Privileges Committee over claims he lied to Parliament about lockdown parties in Downing Street, which could potentially see him expelled as an MP.

There was no immediate word from Mr Johnson – who was thought to be holidaying with his family in the Caribbean – on his intentions.

However, diehard loyalist Nadine Dorries, the former culture secretary, said she had spoken to him following Ms Truss’s resignation and hinted strongly that he was preparing to run.

In order to have a chance of a return to number 10, Mr Johnson will need to secure the nominations of 100 of the party’s 357 MPs – a target which some at Westminster believe may be beyond him.