A newspaper article backing Boris Johnson to return as Prime Minister written by south Warwickshire MP Nadhim Zahawi was published last night as the former PM announced he was dropping out of the Conservative leadership contest.

Mr Zahawi's article 'Get ready for Boris 2.0, the man who will make the Tories and Britain great again' was published at 9pm yesterday (October 23) before being deleted within minutes.

Despite the Telegraph's efforts to save the Stratford MP's blushes, an archived copy of the piece has been shared widely across social media.

In the piece Mr Zahawi hailed Mr Johnson as a "reinvigorated man" and said he "retains his razor-sharp wit, ability to inspire and common touch", adding "he has also evolved".

The national title did not publish an explanation or leave an editor's note as would be customary.

But a Telegraph Media Group spokesperson said: "As a digital first publisher we respond quickly to major news events and update our content as quickly as possible."

Just hours after Mr Johnson announced he would not be contesting the Conservative Party leadership Mr Zahawi had begun rallying behind Rishi Sunak.

The former chancellor posted on Twitter: "A day is a long time in politics... Given today's news, it's clear that we should turn to @RishiSunak to become our next Prime Minister.

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"Rishi is immensely talented, will command a strong majority in the parliamentary Conservative Party, and will have my full support & loyalty.

He has since called for the party to rally behind Mr Sunak "for the sake of our country".

Mr Sunak has now been announced as the new leader of the Conservative Party.