Nadine Dorries has said she would be “ecstatic” if any Tory leadership candidate except Kemi Badenoch took charge of the party.

       The former culture secretary claimed the idea of Mrs Badenoch succeeding Rishi Sunak as leader of the opposition was “deeply concerning”.

       At her only appearance of this year’s Tory conference, Ms Dorries accused the shadow housing secretary – who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government in July 2022 – of plotting against Mr Johnson.

       Praising James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat, Ms Dorries told a drinks reception for think tank More in Common: “All three of them put the party first before their own self-interest. All three of them are men of integrity, all three of them have proven they are grown-ups.

       “All three of them tried to hold [the] government together. They didn’t undermine either prime minister. And for me, loyalty to the government you’re elected to is the most important thing.

       “There are three candidates I will be ecstatically happy if any one of those candidates becomes the leader of the Conservative Party in the future, because they are not confrontational.”

       Asked by The Telegraph about the prospect of Mrs Badenoch succeeding Mr Sunak, Ms Dorries said: “I’d be deeply concerned. I’d be concerned for the reasons that I just highlighted.

       “I think you need to be non-confrontational. If you’re someone who plotted to remove a sitting prime minister, you should be automatically be disqualified.

       “I think, frankly, the people who’ve had their hands on the levers of power need to be eradicated from the party.”

       Mrs Badenoch resigned from Mr Johnson’s frontbench along with four of her fellow levelling up ministers over his handling of the Chris Pincher scandal two summers ago.

       She strongly denied claims she was seeking to oust Mr Sunak earlier this year, saying those working against the then prime minister were “not my friends”.

       Ms Dorries was one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal supporters and quit the Commons last year over the privileges committee inquiry into the partygate scandal that also drove him to quit.

       Commenting on the former prime minister, she said: “Boris Johnson is living a good life at the moment but the party runs through his DNA.

       “I think he would like to help the party, one of his massive frustrations during the general election was that he was unable to do so.”

       Since leaving Westminster, Ms Dorries has written two books detailing tales of gossip and intrigue in SW1 and the second, titled Downfall, will be published next month.