David Cameron is preparing to face down the Conservative Right and hand Ken Clarke the business brief to raise the party’s profile during the recession, The Times has learnt.

The Tory leader believes that the former Chancellor is the only senior Conservative, other than himself and George Osborne, who can command the media spotlight.

Appointing Mr Clarke as Shadow Business Secretary would also reassure voters that the Tories will remain rooted in the political centre ground during the downturn, Mr Cameron has told allies.

“I have had lots of conversations with Ken because I have brought together the Conservative family in a way it hasn’t been for a very long time,” Mr Cameron said in an interview with The Sun.

Tellingly, Mr Cameron also said that the Conservative Party position on Europe was “settled”. When asked whether that included Mr Clarke, he replied: “Everyone. It is not going to change. I will not have an undisciplined team, whoever it is. Full stop.”

Although the final decision has yet to be made, the Tory leader is moving towards matching Lord Mandelson’s dramatic return with the appointment of the 68-year-old pro-European.

“I’m not saying it’s a done deal — David and Ken haven’t had that final conversation – but that’s certainly the way it is heading,” a close ally said.

Mr Cameron has been unmoved by warnings from Lord Tebbit and donors such as Lord Kalms and Stuart Wheeler that the move could split the party. He believes, instead, that bringing back Mr Clarke could demonstrate that the Conservatives’ long schism over Europe is in the past.

Nevertheless, there is nervousness among those running the party at the prospect of Mr Clarke’s return. A senior figure in Tory campaign headquarters said: “I would hope that David seeks from Ken a pretty cast-iron guarantee that he would temper his enthusiasm for the European Union before taking any job.”

Even Mr Clarke is said to acknowledge that the move is fraught with risk. “Clarke’s been telling people that he wouldn’t bring him back if he were Cameron – that he’s got nothing to lose and that he’d be unsackable,” one Tory frontbencher said.

Although Mr Cameron has defended Alan Duncan, the Shadow Business Secretary, he is dismayed by the failure of his Shadow Cabinet to generate more media interest.

“I think he’s very tired of the fact that only he and George ever really capture the media’s attention – Ken would obviously hugely help that,” the frontbencher said.

The Tory changes are expected to take place as soon as the outcome of an investigation involving Caroline Spelman is known. The party chairwoman is alleged to have misused Commons expenses to pay for a nanny. The Committee on Standards and Privileges is expected to receive, in a little over a week, a copy of the report by John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

A return to frontline politics for Mr Clarke would not be without irony. One of his first acts on being made Chancellor in May 1993 was to decide against retaining his predecessor’s adviser – a certain David Cameron.

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