Boris Johnson has not denied setting his sights on a political comeback after leaving Downing Street as he sought to cement his legacy in his final week as prime minister.
In the first of a flurry of visits to mark what he will paint as key achievements of his administration, Johnson faced questions about his future after No.10.
He diverted and talked about rolling out faster broadband, and also urged people to be hopeful that the worsening cost of living crisis will improve by 2023.
Johnson’s close friends have said he believes he was forced out before his time and believes lawmakers will regret moving against him in early July.
Asked if he might return, Johnson told reporters: “I think, as a whole, the people of this country are more interested in their gigabit broadband than they are in the fate of this or that politician.” .
Asked if he regretted the way he handled allegations of wrongdoing and misconduct, Johnson said: “All these things have to be handled carefully and sensitively and we have processes in place to deal with them, and people who have complaints should raise them in the normal way.”
Johnson refused to give himself a 10 rating for his tenure but, speaking during a visit to Dorset, admitted that his replacement as prime minister should announce extra support to help people with the cost of life.
“It’s going to be difficult in the coming months,” Johnson said, adding that the strain on living standards would remain “well into next year.”
However, he blamed “Putin’s war” and was optimistic about the future.
“We’re going to get through it,” he said. “I just want to give people a sense of hope and perspective.”
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Conservative leadership race frontrunner Liz Truss has refused to reveal details of what emergency support payments she might announce this winter, given the 80% increase in the energy price cap for homes But Johnson said if Truss or Rishi Sunak won the contest, there would be an “extra package of support to help people with the cost of energy”.
Former Tory cabinet minister Rory Stewart predicted earlier this week that Johnson could try to run for office again.
Stewart, who ran against Johnson for the Conservative leadership in 2019, compared the outgoing prime minister to former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has announced his desire to return to politics in next month’s election after a career surrounded by scandals.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Stewart said: “I’m afraid he has an extraordinary ego and thinks he was treated badly. He doesn’t see the reality, which is that he was a terrible prime minister and that he lost his job for profound character defects”.
A new YouGov poll found that 63% of people believed Tory MPs did the right thing by removing Johnson by putting pressure on him to resign, compared to 15% who disagreed. However, Tory voters were found to be more torn: 38% said it had been the right thing to do, while 40% disagreed.