Grant Shapps says 'the world has moved on' from Boris Johnson after ex-PM's resignation

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Cabinet minister Grant Shapps today insisted the ‘world has moved on’ from Boris Johnson following the former prime minister’s dramatic resignation as an MP.

The Energy Secretary attempted to contain the damage to the Government from the shock departure of three Conservative MPs – including Mr Johnson – from Parliament in recent days.

Mr Shapps praised the ex-Tory leader’s ‘many qualities’ but stressed there were now ‘different challenges to face’ and there was ‘new management in No10’ under Rishi Sunak.

He also took a swipe at Mr Johnson – who was today pictured giving a thumbs up as he went for a morning jog with his dog Dilyn – for having ‘removed himself’ from politics by quitting the House of Commons.

Mr Johnson’s resignation as an MP has sparked a fresh bout of Tory feuding between the ex-PM’s supporters and his critics.

But Conservative grandees issued a plea for party unity amid the bickering factions as Mr Sunak attempts to overhaul Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s poll lead ahead of the next general election.

Lord Howard, a former Tory leader, told the BBC: ‘I would urge all Conservative MPs – all of them – to remember that there’s an election a year away and that they have a choice between uniting behind the Prime Minister and doing everything they can to win that election.

‘Or facing the fact that the country will be led by someone who at the last election urged everyone to make Jeremy Corbyn our prime minister.’

Allies of Mr Johnson have been predicting a swift return for the former premier – including before the next general election – despite his explosive departure from the Commons.

Mr Shapps refused to rule out a political comeback for Mr Johnson and admitted he would ‘never predict’ the ex-PM’s actions.

But ex-Tory deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has demanded Mr Johnson be blocked from ever standing for election as a Conservative MP again.

Ex-prime minister Boris Johnson gave a thumbs up this morning as he went for a run with his dog Dilyn

The former Tory leader has dramatically quit the House of Commons over Partygate and a row over his peerages list

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps insisted the ‘world has moved on’ from Mr Johnson as he tried to contain the damage to Rishi Sunak’s Government

Lord Howard, a former Tory leader, issued a plea for party unity as Mr Sunak attempts to overhaul Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s poll lead ahead of the next general electio

Mr Johnson quit Parliament over Partygate and a row over his peerages list.

He delivered a ferocious attack on a ‘kangaroo court’ of MPs investigating his denials of Covid rule-breaking and also savaged the direction of Mr Sunak’s Government.

Nadine Dorries and Nigel Adams, who are both staunch supporters of Mr Johnson, have also quit as MPs in what has been seen as an attempt to destabilise Mr Sunak’s administration.

Mr Shapps tried to downplay the impact of the trio of resignations on the Government and denied suggestions Mr Johnson had been forced out if Parliament by ‘the establisment’.

‘Boris is somebody with many qualities but we are now in a world where there are different challenges to face and we have got new management in No10,’ the Energy Secretary told Sky News.

‘Actually in the end Boris was perfectly entitled to remain as an MP.

‘He has decided to step down and a couple of my other colleagues, all of them whom I’ve worked with and Boris in particular, I liked working with him as prime minister.

‘But … the world has moved on. He is the one who has removed himself from the current political scene, standing down as a member of Parliament.

‘We’ve got excellent leadership in place in No 10 with Rishi Sunak.’

Lord Frost, who was Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator and also a Cabinet minister under Mr Johnson, predicted the ex-PM had not departed frontline politics for good.

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, the Conservative peer recounted how, when foreign secretary, Mr Johnson drove off from a photo-op in Japan in a million-pound electric vehicle.

‘Pursued by agitated British officials and Japanese auto executives, he disappeared with the million-pound uninsured vehicle into the six lanes of Tokyo traffic,’ Lord Frost wrote.

‘We didn’t know where he would come back, or when, or in what state. Of course, he showed up five minutes later, unharmed, exhilarated, to the relief of all concerned.

‘This time, too, we don’t know where he will be back or when. But I’m sure the story is not over.’

Lord Frost, who was Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator and also a Cabinet minister under Mr Johnson, predicted the ex-PM had not departed frontline politics for good

Ex-Tory deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has demanded Mr Johnson be blocked from ever standing for election as a Conservative MP again

Sir James Duddridge, a former trade minister, also forecast a swift political return for Mr Johnson.

‘Operation Boris goes on, just from his office, a stone’s throw from the House of Commons, instead of the rather smaller, shabbier one he got as an MP,’ he wrote in the Sun on Sunday.

‘My tip, head to Ladbrokes and put a fiver on him coming back, maybe even before the next election.

‘The wilderness months, not years, would be a good title for the chapter of the next period in his life.’

But Lord Heseltine, a fierce critic of both Mr Johnson and Brexit, demanded the ex-PM be barred from ever returning as a Tory MP.

‘To me it is inconceivable that in these circumstances he could stand as a Conservative member of parliament again,’ he wrote in the Observer.

‘It is up to Conservative central office to affirm an official Conservative candidate.

‘No doubt he will now go out into the world and make huge sums of money, writing history as he thinks it was conducted. But it will have little to do with the reality of the mess he left behind.’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has demanded Mr Sunak call an immediate general election following the resignation of Mr Johnson, Ms Dorries and Mr Adams from the Commons.

‘Rishi Sunak must finally find a backbone, call an election, and let the public have their say on 13 years of Tory failure,’ he told the Sunday Mirror.

‘This farce must stop. People have had enough.’