Jacob Rees-Mogg backs Boris Johnson to return as Tory leader after general election

"I think the Conservative Party to change leader again, would be folly.

"I’m looking at some indeterminate date in the future when Rishi’s hair has gone grey and he decides to retire and Boris comes back on his charger to save the nation.”

In a discussion with Camilla Tominey, he denied speculation that he might join other Johnson allies and resign his seat to force a change of leadership.

He said: "I've seen gossip that I was thinking of following them. Nobody suggested to me that I should force a by-election and I wouldn't have any desire to do that.

"So if there’s a plot, it's one I'm completely unaware of.

“As I understand it, both of them were expecting to get peerages and therefore there would have been by-elections for them to go to the House of Lords.

"Nadine has wanted to leave parliament, really, since Boris stepped down as Prime Minister. So the fact that she's going shouldn't really surprise anybody.

"I’m afraid I think this plot for lots of people to resign is invented. I think two people decided they wanted to leave Parliament, both of whom had indicated that desire already.

"They've just slightly changed the timetable, both of whom were expecting to retire to peerages rather than to the Chiltern Hundreds. I'm unaware of any plot of this kind, it's speculation not based on sufficient evidence."

Sir Jacob added: "There are some bills before Parliament that will actually be bad for the country at large, let alone for Conservative supporters. So there's the hydrogen levy that's going to put up people's energy bills.

"This is a really silly thing to be doing at a point of high energy prices. This is something a Conservative government should not be doing.

"Boris is simply saying you should do some things that are actually Conservative…clear the barnacles off the boat so that you can get in a good position for a general election.

"That's what the Government should be concentrating on and should get rid of these bills that are actually bills that could be introduced by the Labour Party."