A Tory plot to oust David Cameron has been revealed by a backbench MP who confirmed he was asked to consider a "stalking horse" leadership challenge against the Prime Minister.
Colonel Bob Stewart said he was approached by two party colleagues before the summer recess with the proposal but that he told them to "get lost" and rejected the idea as "silly".
Details of the scheming was exposed by a Sunday newspaper which also reported that Tory MP Zac Goldsmith had offered his safe Tory seat to Boris Johnson.
Mr Goldsmith has vowed to resign as the MP for Richmond in south west London if the Government revives controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport - which is also fiercely opposed by the London Mayor.
The newspaper said that the idea of Mr Johnson fighting the subsequent by-election to secure a return to the Commons and the chance to challenge for the leadership was made in talks to discuss how best to oppose the airport expansion.
The idea was said to have been dismissed "out of hand" by the Mayor, whose position as a potential challenger to Mr Cameron has been reinforced by the successful London Olympics.
Asked about the separate plot, Colonel Stewart, who was commanding officer of the British battalion in Bosnia, said: "It was a silly suggestion that I dismissed. I told them to get lost. I was not having anything to do with it."
He declined to name the plotters and said he had not been told on whose behalf the pair were operating.
"I do not know; I do not care," he said, insisting he remained loyal to Mr Cameron, who was "the reason I came into politics".
"I may have rebelled by voting against House of Lords reform and on Europe but that does not make me disloyal. He is the leader of our country, the leader of our party and I believe in loyalty."
The Mayor's official spokesman said: "It's no surprise that the Mayor has met and will continue to meet those who share his concerns over the lack of aviation capacity in London and the South-East. But the story in question is without doubt fanciful."
Mr Goldsmith told the newspaper: "I saw Boris this week and we compared notes on Heathrow to see what we could do to kill off the third runway. We covered all sorts of possibilities. I would do anything I need to deliver to my constituents what I said I would."
Mr Johnson, who has dismissed suggestions he could cut short his mayoral term to launch a leadership bid, has led the outcry over the reconsideration of Heathrow expansion.
He strongly criticised the reshuffle ousting of Justine Greening - who is also opposed to the move - as Transport Secretary and has expressed fears the Government plans a "stealthy U-turn".
Mr Cameron has ordered a cross-party commission to seek consensus on the divisive issue of airport capacity in south east England but has insisted he will not break a manifesto pledge ruling out a third runway at Heathrow during this Parliament.
The Mayor discussed the issue with the premier in the margins of a meeting this week of the high-profile committee overseeing the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"It's no secret the Mayor opposes the building of a third runway, he was re-elected opposing any such notion, he'll continue to oppose any such notion, and he'll be doing it as Mayor of London," the spokesman said.
"The Mayor believes the Government's announcement of an Independent Commission has at least re-opened the debate on aviation capacity. That gives him the opportunity to demonstrate why Heathrow expansion isn't the answer, and the creation of a new 4 runway hub airport is. The Mayor will be doing both in the weeks and months ahead."
Asked if the Heathrow row coud lead to him returning to the Commons, Mr Johnson told ITV News: "Absolutely not.
"I've said, as I said in the election about a billion times, being mayor is the best job in British politics and it's what I want to do."
Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable said Heathrow expansion "will not happen" because of the breadth of political opposition to it.
"There is an absolutely clear coalition commitment not to expand Heathrow," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
"There is a very formidable political coalition against it: my party is totally opposed; Boris Johnson and the London Conservatives are opposed; the Labour Party seems to be moving against it.
"It is not going to happen so the value of this commission the Prime Minister had been talking about is looking at alternatives."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article