Boris Johnson finally congratulated Rishi Sunak today after being conspicuously slow to offer the new Tory leader his backing.
While praise flew in to No10 over the past day, the former premier waited until Mr Sunak was installed as Prime Minister by the King before weighing in.
It came after Mr Sunak had praised aspects of his leadership but consciously appropriated his mandate to govern from the 2019 election as a blueprint.
Mr Johnson could perhaps have been licking his wounds after pulling out of an eleventh-hour bid to run against Mr Sunak, who is blamed by allies of the ex-leader for ending his premiership in the summer.
Speaking outside No10 today the new PM said that his administration would have ‘integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level’, which could be seen as a snub after the chaos of the last two incumbents.
He went on to say: ‘I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as PM, and I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit.
‘And I know he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual. It is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us.
‘And the heart of that mandate is our manifesto. I will deliver on its promise.
‘A stronger NHS, better schools, safer streets, control of our borders, protecting our environment, supporting our armed forces, levelling up and building an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit where businesses invest, innovate and create jobs.’
A short time later, Mr Johnson tweeted: ‘Congratulations to Rishi Sunak on this historic day, this is the moment for every Conservative to give our new PM their full and wholehearted support.’
While praise flew in to No10 in the past day, the former premier waited until Mr Sunak was installed as Prime Minister by the King before weighing in
Speaking outside No10 today the new PM said that his administration would have ‘integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level’, which could be seen as a snub after the chaos of the last two incumbents
Mr Johnson had not previously tweeted since October 15 and has not updated his Facebook page since last month
Before returning to the UK at the weekend, Mr Johnson was on holiday in the Caribbean with his family while Parliament was in session.
It came as he was on the receiving end of criticism from Tory MPs over the manner of his abortive tilt at power.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said Mr Johnson had been ‘begging people for votes’ in a ‘demeaning’ Tory leadership race before withdrawing.
The former Conservative leader told LBC Radio’s Tonight With Andrew Marr: ‘I think the problem when Boris came over was, one, Boris was completely unexpectedly having to do this.
‘He’d made no plans, he got no team. He kind of expected I think when he arrived that there would be at least 150 people acclaiming him and this would grow to the majority.
‘That didn’t happen. Suddenly he found himself struggling and begging people for votes. That was demeaning really.
‘And then when Rishi [Sunak] and the others said: ”No, the only deal we’d do with you is if you were serving us not the other way round.” And that of course didn’t suit him.’
Many of Mr Johnson’s supporters blame Mr Sunak for ending his premiership in the summer, after months of sleaze allegations surrounding Downing Street.
The incoming premier resigned as chancellor in the summer, shortly after then-health secretary Sajid Javid in what became a mass ministerial walkout.
And many of Mr Johnson’s closest former acolytes backed Liz Truss in the summer.
He mulled trying to cement an unlikely return to power over the weekend, causing a number of high-profile figures to back him, including Foreign Secretary James Cleverley.
But late on Sunday night, after attempting to get both Mr Sunak and fellow challenger Penny Mordaunt to step down in his favour, he bowed out.
His team insisted he made the 100-nominations needed to get on the ballot, and officially he said he would not run.
Sir Iain said Mr Sunak must ‘make it clear’ to the party that it ‘can no longer indulge in debates about policy’.
Put to him that Mr Sunak may have his job cut out for him dealing with Tory backbenchers, he told BBC Breakfast: ‘Well, maybe. I think the truth is that there is a great desire to stop now having an argument in an empty room.
‘He needs now to make it clear to his party – my party – that we can no longer indulge in debates about policy, we’ve just got to get on with governing.’