Kwasi Kwarteng, who was made business secretary by Johnson before a short-lived stint as chancellor under Liz Truss due to his notorious mini-budget, said he would "never rule out" a return by Johnson to frontline politics.
The prediction was made as a nine-month inquiry into allegations Johnson misled MPs by denying any Covid rules were breached in No 10 during lockdown comes to a head when he is hauled before the crossparty privileges committee.
For up to four hours this week, Johnson is to be quizzed about what he knew about the law-breaking gatherings, for which Scotland Yard handed out more than 100 fines and which led to pressure from Tory MPs for him to quit.
Before the showdown, Johnson has been practising for the televised hearing with his legal team, with a "bombshell" document dozens of pages long prepared by his lawyers that will lay out his defence.
It will be sent to the committee this afternoon and is said to be a detailed factual rebuttal of the suggestion that he knowingly misled parliament.
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