Robert Jenrick has said he would be “delighted” to include Boris Johnson in his shadow cabinet if he won the Tory leadership contest.

The former immigration minister said the Conservatives need “the best people who are available” and he would be “pleased” to welcome back the former prime minister, should he want to return.

Mr Johnson was ousted from Number 10 in July 2022 after the Chris Pincher affair sparked a mass exodus from his government.

He later resigned as an MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, after a Commons inquiry determined he had lied to parliament over the partygate scandal.

Asked whether he would have Mr Johnson in his top team, Mr Jenrick told The Telegraph: “Yeah. I think what we need are the best people who are available in the Conservative family to be on the pitch, supporting us to be a strong Opposition, holding Keir Starmer to account for all of the failings that we already see, and ultimately winning the next general election.

“And if Boris wanted to be part of that, I’d be delighted.”

Mr Johnson has denied wrongdoing in relation to the Downing Street parties and accused the Commons of a witch hunt against him.

He briefly toyed with a return to frontline politics when Liz Truss’s short-lived administration collapsed, but dropped out of the race after concluding that he would not be able to unite the party.

Since leaving office he has made millions in speaking engagements and writes a column for the Daily Mail.

He did not stand as a candidate in the July general election but has not ruled out returning to politics in the future.

Mr Jenrick, who resigned as Rishi Sunak’s immigration minister last year, is vying to replace the former prime minister alongside Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat.

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Whoever wins faces the huge task of uniting the Conservative Party and trying to boost its standing in the polls after it suffered its worst general election defeat in history.

According to a poll of 805 Tory party members carried out between 2 August and 12 August, former home secretary Mr Cleverly is the most popular candidate to be the next party leader, with 26% supporting him.

He was followed by Ms Patel on 20%, Ms Badenoch on 14%, Mr Tugendhat on 11%, Mr Jenrick on 10% and Mr Stride on 4%, in the poll from Techne UK.

However, previous surveys have thrown up other results – and a consensus on a favourite has not emerged.

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The current slate of six candidates will be narrowed down through votes among Tory MPs at the start of next month, with the contest eventually going down to a vote by the Tory membership when just two are left.

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