STAUNCH BORIS JOHNSON ally Nadine Dorries has insisted the former British prime minister “will be back” one day, as she recalled an “upbeat” atmosphere among friends following his aborted bid for a second stint in the top job.

The former UK Cabinet minister said Johnson threw a “successful” party to thank his supporters after he bowed out of the race to replace Liz Truss, with a “general ‘air’ in the room” to suggest people anticipated his return – be it relatively soon or a decade down the line.

Johnson flew back from the Caribbean in a dramatic turn of events as he plotted a return to No 10 less than two months after being ousted in the wake of a series of scandals.

But he later dropped his comeback bid, saying he had been unsuccessful in his efforts to “reach out” to his rivals – Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt – to work together in the national interest.

Former culture secretary Dorries said there was a “huge crowd” at the gathering, adding: “Everybody loves him.”

“There was a general ‘air’ in the room and certainly people saying he will be back,” she told The House magazine.

“He will be back. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, I don’t know whether it will be 10 years or 10 months.”

But she said Johnson first needs to “recoup”, suggesting the top job comes at a price, literally.

“I used to say that to be a prime minister you need to be rich because it costs you a lot of money,” she said.

“It is part of the role to invite people to Chequers, but you have to pay for every cup of tea served out of your own pocket.”

In an apparent reference to Sunak’s wealth, she noted: “Unless you are a multimillionaire, it is a problem.”