This raises the possibility that more members will vote to sign the petition to keep Mr Johnson than vote for Mr Sunak and Ms Truss in the leadership election.
Conservative members have been signing the petition calling for a confirmation of MPs’ decision to remove Mr Johnson, at a rate of nearly 2,000 a day since it was launched last week.
Anyone who signs the petition is asked to provide their membership number when they sign up. Lord Cruddas said fake membership numbers were quickly detected and their names were not counted.
The names are being sent to Andrew Stephenson, chairman of the Conservative campaign staff in Westminster.
Lord Cruddas told The Telegraph how Mr Johnson personally invited him to lunch last Friday.
The two dined alone, although Mr Johnson’s wife Carrie arrived half an hour before Lord Cruddas left, carrying their young daughter Romy in her arms and accompanied by Johnson’s son Wilf.
Speaking at the lunch, Lord Cruddas said: “Boris thanked me for my Boris in the Ballot campaign. He said he was happy to follow her and wished me luck.
“He said he could understand members’ anger at what had happened. He said he wished he could continue to be prime minister. He said he didn’t want to resign.”
Asked by the colleague if he would “erase” his resignation immediately with a “magic wand”, Mr Johnson reportedly replied: “I would erase everything that stops me being prime minister in a second.”
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