Michael Gove has denied he stabbed his former ally Boris Johnson in the back when he stood against for the Conservative leadership, saying he believed the Tories had made the right decision by making Theresa May prime minister.
The former justice secretary, who was sacked by May, said he had been impressed by her leadership, and hinted he was keen for a return to the frontbench.
Johnson, who dropped out of the race to replace David Cameron when Gove announced his own bid, called his Brexit campaign partner a “phenomenally talented individual who has put public service first”.
Gove told the BBC’s World At One: “I wouldn’t say I stabbed him in the back but I certainly came to the judgment in the immediate aftermath of the referendum campaign that, while I had originally thought he was the best person to be prime minister, for a variety of reasons that I won’t go into, I didn’t think he was the best person at that point.
“It’s not treachery. I explained my reasons at the time. The water is under the bridge.”
The Sunday Times reported sources close to the pair as saying Johnson “wanted to punch” Gove after he announced his bid to become prime minister on the morning of a speech in which the former London mayor was to announce his own candidacy, a move that destroyed both men’s chances.
Gove was then eliminated in a ballot of Tory MPs in the second round, with fellow leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom left facing a run-off with May. Leadsom dropped out several days later.
Gove said he had believed the next prime minister should be someone who had campaigned to leave the EU and had decided to run only when he became concerned about Johnson.
“Now with the benefit of hindsight and the opportunity to spend some time on the backbenches reflecting on some of the mistakes I’ve made and some of the judgments that I’ve made, I think Theresa is the right person at the right time,” he said.
“As a person who took the decision she did during the referendum, she is in the best place to unite the party and lead the negotiations effectively.”
May and Gove repeatedly clashed when the prime minister was at the Home Office and Gove was at education, particularly over radicalisation in schools.
“It was probably right after six years in government, I was given the opportunity to spend some time on the backbenches to reflect,” Gove said of his dismissal from cabinet.
“If the chance came to serve again then of course I would happily say yes, but I’m very happy being on the back benches at the moment because it gives me an opportunity to do all sorts of other things.”
