Speaking at a drinks reception for think tank More in Common, Dorries said: “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.”

However, when it comes to Badenoch, Dorries minced no words. When asked about potentially leading the party, Dorries told The Telegraph: “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.”

According to a new poll of party members, Robert Jenrick is the frontrunner in the Tory leadership race.

The former immigration minister received 38.3 percent in the survey by the Right-wing Popular Conservatism group.

Badenoch was second with 30.4 percent in the poll of 444 Tory members.

Centrist candidates James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Mel Stride took 5.2 percent, 3.8 percent and two percent respectively.