Influential minister Steve Baker attacks the previous prime minister, saying Sky News that a second premiership would “inevitably disintegrate, bringing the entire government down with it.”

A second term for Boris Johnson in Number 10 would be “a guaranteed disaster,” according to one of his former admirers.

Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker disclosed that he will support Rishi Sunak in the forthcoming Tory leadership election because he would “provide a competent, skilled, and professional government that we can rely on.”

However, the prominent member of parliament also launched a stinging attack on the former prime minister, claiming that Mr. Johnson’s return to Downing Street would cause the entire administration to collapse.

Candidates only have till Monday at 2:00 p.m. to win the support of 100 members of the House of Representatives to qualify for the ballot.

Mr. Sunak is currently in the lead, surpassing the necessary threshold to advance to the next round.

Even though only 57 individuals have officially declared their support for Mr. Johnson, one of his supporters, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, asserted to Ridge that he “absolutely” had the required number of supporters to qualify for the ballot.

Nadhim Zahawi, another cabinet minister, stated this morning that the former prime minister “got the big calls right” and “learned from [prior] mistakes how he might govern Number 10 and the country better.”

To date, however, only Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, has officially declared her candidacy and gained 23 public endorsements.

Damian Green, Theresa May’s de facto deputy, told Ridge that she was “attracting support from all party wings” and would provide “calm stability” to the Conservatives.

And he expressed confidence that she will meet the goal by Monday, stating that she was “in it to win it.”