Nadhim Zahawi comes out in support of Boris Johnson just weeks after damning ‘integrity’ remarks

A week is a long time in politics, but people seem to have shorter memories than ever inside Downing Street at the moment.

Boris Johnson is reportedly preparing to announce a run in the hastily organised Conservative leadership election, and Nadhim Zahawi is one of the MPs who have come out to support him publicly.

Yes, that’s the same Nadhim Zahawi who called for Johnson’s resignation just 108 days ago and slammed his ‘integrity’ in a damning public letter to the former PM.

Writing on Twitter on Sunday morning, Zahawi wrote: “I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of covid, arming [Ukraine] early against the advice of some, or stepping down for the sake of unity. But now, Britain needs him back. We need to unite to deliver on our manifesto.”

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He added: “When I was Chancellor, I saw a preview of what Boris 2.0 would look like. He was contrite & honest about his mistakes. He’d learned from those mistakes how he could run No10 & the country better.

“With a unified team behind him, he is the one to lead us to victory & prosperity.”

It’s a surprising move, seeing as Zahawi was calling for Johnson to leave his post as PM on July 7.

Zahawi wrote a letter telling Johnson he had to quit because “the country deserves…a government which acts with integrity”.

What has changed Zahawi's mind?Nadhim Zahawi/Twitter

He posted the letter on Twitter at the time and wrote: “Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country. You must do the right thing and go now.”

Zahawi was appointed Chancellor by Johnson following the resignation of Rishi Sunak earlier this year. Zahawi lasted just 63 days in the post.

Meanwhile, Sunak has confirmed that he’s running for prime minister and Steve Baker declared that he is supporting him to become the next PM as Johnson would be “bound to implode” if he returned to No 10.

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