Rishi Sunak refused to rule out putting disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson back in the cabinet as he played down the plots against his leadership as “minuscule”.
The two men fell out after Mr Sunak’s resignation from the cabinet hastened Mr Johnson’s exit from office.
But, in a new ITV documentary, the Tory leader said he still talks to his predecessor “on occasion”, the last time late last year.
He remained tight-lipped about whether he might bring back Mr Johnson, who resigned as an MP after he was found to have lied and lied again over the Partygate scandal, saying that he would “never talk about these personnel things”.
David Cameron became foreign secretary last year in a move that also saw him installed in the House of Lords.
Mr Sunak said they “worked well together for a long time” although “in the end there (were…) well-documented differences”, in the documentary. But he added that his new team in No 10 were “honest”.
A beleaguered Mr Sunak is the focus of a plot by MPs, donors and former aides, some of them linked to Mr Johnson, to force him out of Downing Street. But he attempted to play down the threats to his position, saying they were “minuscule”.
An explosive poll, paid for by shadowy donors, predicted a devastating Labour landslide unless Mr Sunak was removed as leader.
Tory peer Lord Frost, who organised the poll, has since been warned he risks losing the party whip unless he comes clean and names the anonymous moneymen.
A senior Tory linked to both Liz Truss and Mr Johnson, Sir Simon Clarke, also recently went public with calls for his party leader to go.
The group are thought to be planning a war of attrition against the prime minister.
But hitting back at his internal critics, Mr Sunak said: “I don’t think the country votes for divided parties.” He added: “Actually the debates within our party are minuscule compared to the chasm on this issue between us and Keir Starmer.”
The prime minister also insisted his wealth is not an issue for voters and accused those who attack him over it of having a “lack of ambition for our country”.
Mr Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are worth an estimated £529m, according to 2023’s Sunday Times Rich List.
