Boris Johnson is making a hurried return to London from his Caribbean holiday as dozens of Conservative MPs nominate him as a candidate in the rapid Tory leadership to replace Liz Truss in Downing Street.
The former prime minister is expected to officially enter the race, having told his former trade minister Sir James Duddridge that “we are going to do this”.
Mr Johnson was booed by at least a couple of fellow passengers on his flight to the UK, while other passengers looked “bewildered” by his presence in economy class, according to Sky News journalist Mark Stone.
Earlier, a former Bank of England deputy governor warned that Mr Johnson’s return to No 10 could worry financial markets, with even the possibility of another Johnson premiership sending borrowing costs rising.
Rishi Sunak, however, became the first contender to reach the threshold of 100 nominations from Tory MPs required to make it to Monday’s ballot, a campaign source said. Penny Mordaunt is said to have around 30 backers, trailing behind the more than 50 estimated for Mr Johnson.
