BORIS JOHNSON was given hope of a political comeback by two members of the Shadow Cabinet yesterday within 24 hours of being sacked from the front bench for misleading Michael Howard.

Mr Johnson, 40, pledged to devote more time to his constituents in Henley after the Tory leader relieved him of the posts of spokesman for the arts and Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party.

But although he was backed by his constituency party after the disclosure of a four-year adulterous affair, the maverick MP’s future as editor of The Spectator was in doubt.

Mr Howard acted when he learnt that the News of the World was running the story of Mr Johnson’s infidelity with Petronella Wyatt, 35, and her subsequent abortion of their child.

The Tory leadership made it clear that Mr Johnson was not being sacked for moral shortcomings but because he was “less than frank” over his involvement with Ms Wyatt, a columnist for The Spectator.

Mr Johnson, who has four children with his wife, Marina, last week described speculation about a relationship with Ms Wyatt as “an inverted pyramid of piffle”.

The revelations followed the furore surrounding a Spectator article accusing Liverpudlians of “wallowing” in grief over the death of the Iraq hostage Ken Bigley. Mr Howard ordered him to travel to the city to apologise but a botched visit helped to add weight to suggestions that he should quit the magazine or the front bench.

Theresa May, the Tories’ spokesperson for the family, backed Mr Howard’s decision yesterday, insisting it was not a moral judgment on Mr Johnson’s private life.

Ms May told GMTV’s Sunday Programme: “I think what is clear is that this is not about Boris’s private life. I think this is about the fact that it would appear that he denied the stories which now subsequently appear to be true.” The Tories are wary of Mr Johnson’s demise being seen as a “back to basics” campaign, aware that Mr Howard was cited in divorce proceedings after wooing his wife Sandra from her third husband.

However Michael Ancram, the Tories’ deputy leader, said that he would not rule out a return to frontline politics for Mr Johnson and Nicholas Soames, the Shadow Defence Secretary, said that he was “one of the most brilliant and amusing and interesting men of his generation”.

Speaking on Sky’s Sunday with Adam Boulton, Mr Soames added: “All I can say is Boris’s political days are certainly not over . . . I am very sorry that Boris is to go but he will dust himself down and crack on, I’m sure.” Mr Ancram added that Mr Howard wanted to deal with the “very genuine public concern about the honesty and integrity” of politicians.

Conservative stalwarts in Henley backed Mr Johnson as their MP yesterday, dismissing his extra-marital affair as “a private matter”. David Crossman, the chairman of South Oxfordshire Conservative Association, said: “This is almost entirely a concern for Boris Johnson and his family and our thoughts are with them as they struggle to come to terms with this difficult matter.”

Carol Viney, a member of the association’s executive, added: “Boris is an excellent MP and I hope he continues. He is a normal person and we all have our faults. This matter is personal to him and his wife.”

But Tony Lane, Mayor of Henley four times, said that Mr Johnson could no longer take for granted his reselection. “There is a possibility he won’t be reselected — it does fall to the local constituency.”

Ms Wyatt’s mother, Verushka, refused to condemn Mr Johnson. “I really think what has happened is not the end of the world. After all, other people fall in love with other people. I can’t say anything. It is none of my business.”

Lady Wyatt told The Sunday Times that her daughter had become pregnant by Mr Johnson and had an abortion after he tried to rekindle their relationship. She said: “It was one of those accidents which happened which nobody really wanted to. That is the truth.”

Lady Wyatt also said: “In the beginning, the reason she went out with him was because he said he was going to marry her.”

Mr Johnson told The Sunday Telegraph, for which he writes, that he was very sad at the sacking. “It is a wretched and lamentable day when people’s private lives become used in political machinations,” he said.

Mr Johnson put on a brave face as he returned to the friend’s house in North London where he is staying. Asked how he was feeling, he replied: “Tremendous, little short of superb. On cracking form.”

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