Boris Johnson had backing to challenge Rishi Sunak, Sir Graham Brady confirms

Boris Johnson had signed up capable MPs to equine a situation to Rishi Sunak for the Conservative leadership, elder Tory Sir Graham Brady has confirmed.

Mr Johnson dramatically pulled retired of the contention amid speculation helium did not person the 100 nominations needed.

But Sir Graham, who runs Tory enactment contests, said Mr Johnson had conscionable decided not to stand.

He besides spoke for the archetypal clip astir his gathering with Liz Truss erstwhile she realised she could not spell connected arsenic PM.

He said the chat was "the easiest and astir straightforward" of the 3 akin conversations helium has held with Conservative leaders facing the extremity of their clip successful powerfulness "because she had travel to the aforesaid conclusion" arsenic him.

As president of the almighty 1922 backbench committee, it falls to Sir Graham to present the atrocious quality to Tory leaders clinging to powerfulness that they nary longer bid the enactment of their MPs.

In an interrogation with BBC North West Tonight, Sir Graham said helium had decided to telephone Downing Street to archer Ms Truss her presumption was "unsustainable," pursuing "utter chaos" during 1 of the final Commons votes of her administration.

Confusion implicit whether the ballot connected fracking was a assurance ballot successful her came amid crumbling enactment for her doomed premiership from Tory MPs.

"I was reaching for my telephone erstwhile I got a connection saying the premier curate had asked to spot me," the Altrincham and Sale West MP told the programme.

"When I went successful to spot her with her main of unit Mark Fullbrook, she asked maine the question - she said 'it's beauteous bad, isn't it?' To which I replied 'yes, it is beauteous bad'".

"She asked the 2nd question, 'do you deliberation it's retrievable?' And I said 'no, I don't deliberation it is'. And she replied that she didn't either."

By contrast, helium recalled a gathering with Mr Johnson the nighttime earlier helium announced his resignation successful July this year, erstwhile helium was "still determined to spell on".

"He [Mr Johnson] mulled it implicit aft that, and helium called maine aboriginal the adjacent greeting to accidental that he'd changed his mind."

Mr Johnson was forced to resign aft wide walkout of ministers, including his erstwhile chancellor Mr Sunak, pursuing a drawstring of scandals.

He tried to marque a sensational comeback aft Ms Truss resigned, attempting to muster the 100 nominations from Tory MPs required to marque it done to an online ballot of enactment members.

But aft flying backmost from a Caribbean holiday, helium dramatically announced helium would not beryllium standing, adjacent though helium had 102 backers, including a proposer and a seconder.

In a statement, helium said putting himself guardant would not beryllium "the close happening to do" for enactment unity.

His determination to propulsion retired meant Mr Sunak became Tory person automatically arsenic the lone MP to marque it to the ballot stage.

The announcement was greeted with immoderate scepticism wrong Westminster, fixed lone astir fractional that fig had gone nationalist with their enactment for Mr Johnson.

But Sir Graham said "two candidates" had reached the threshold, and "one of them decided not to past taxable his nomination".

Elsewhere successful his interview, Sir Graham insisted the committee had wanted to impact enactment members successful the enactment race, contempt mounting a "very high" information threshold to velocity up the contest.

"We thought it was successful the nationalist involvement to get a effect arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable - but wanted to marque definite we weren't closing that anticipation that the members would besides person a vote," helium said.