Boris stakes his claim for safe Tory seat

The London Mayor spokesman confirmed that he is applying to be the Tory candidate in the safe seat.

Mr Johnson announced his intention to return to parliament earlier this month, amid speculation that he is positioning to take over from David Cameron as Conservative leader in the future.

Mr Johnson said he hoped to “make his case” that he was the best person to represent the constituency, held by Sir John Randall with a majority of 11,000 at the last general election.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of excellent candidates and I hope very much to make my case to the association,” he told the Evening Standard.

The Conservative candidate for the seat is due to be announced on September 12.

Mr Johnson has said that if he is elected to the Commons next May he will still serve out his term as Mayor, which ends in 2016.

He risked infuriating the Prime Minister today by calling for tougher anti-terrorism laws - including a presumption that Britons travelling to Iraq and Syria without notifying UK authorities are engaged in criminal behaviour.

Downing Street has poured cold water on the idea, stressing that police and security services are not “pushing” for such measures.

Labour’s London spokesman Sadiq Khan said: “Boris Johnson’s announcement is confirmation of how weak David Cameron is and how out of touch the Tories are.

“When millions of people are struggling under a cost of living crisis, the Tories are turning inwards, jockeying for position in a future leadership contest.

“What Britain needs is a change of direction. For all their squabbles over who leads them, all the Tories offer is more of the same failure.”