MP Conor Burns: “There is no Boris Johnson leadership campaign"

Using the messaging app WhatsApp, the foreign secretary said Tory MPs should “calm down and get behind the prime minister”.

Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns, who is among the members of the WhatsApp group, replied: “Spot on, Boris.”

There had been reports that Mr Johnson was being urged to challenge Theresa May for the Conservative leadership after she failed to win a majority for her party last week.

Former chancellor George Osborne, who now edits London’s Evening Standard, said of Mr Johnson: “He’s in a permanent leadership campaign. I’m not sure it qualifies as news.” He also described Mrs May as a “dead woman walking”.

Mr Burns, who was involved with Mr Johnson’s brief campaign for the leadership last year, said the Conservative Party was in a “far from ideal” position but needed to put together a stable administration.

He said Mr Johnson’s comments were circulated to a group of MPs via WhatsApp. The group’s messages had never before been made public.

“There is no Boris Johnson campaign,” he said.

Mr Johnson’s message, seen by ITV News, said: “Folks we need to calm down and get behind the prime minister.

“1. She won more votes than anyone since Margaret Thatcher.

“2. I can’t remember us having anything like 43 per cent of the vote.

“3. We have got to stop the narrative that Corbyn somehow won this thing – he barely did better than Gordon useless Brown when we beat him in 2010.

“4. We must get on and deliver for the people of this country – including a great Brexit deal.

“5. We must not allow the media to spread mischief not least because the public are fed up to the back teeth of politicians and they certainly DO NOT want another election.

“6. Yes of course we need to think about the lessons of this election but not in the papers.

“7. The PM is a woman of extraordinary qualities and frankly the public are looking to us to get behind her with discipline and determination.

“8. On with the job!”