‘Well, that was unexpected’: how Johnson wrongfooted his leadership backers

Several MPs supporting ex-PM's return were caught out in awkward ways by news he would not run

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To borrow a line from Eric Morecambe - as one wag pointed out to Nadhim Zahawi on Twitter - it was a case of backing all the right candidates, just not necessarily in the right order ...".

Among a field of very late converts to the charms of Rishi Sunak, Zahawi was one of those caught out in the most awkward of ways by Boris Johnson's abrupt announcement that he was not entering the Tory leadership race.