Oris Johnson insisted the idea of an early election “did not occur to me”, but refused to rule out calling for a quick poll.
The Prime Minister said he would not “start talking about politics” at a time when he was dealing with cost of living pressure and the war in Ukraine.
He has repeatedly failed to rule out the prospect of going to the country ahead of the next scheduled election in 2024.
The Prime Minister claimed he had a new mandate at Westminster after his victory in the vote of confidence, despite 41% of his own MPs deciding he should leave, and was asked if he also had a new mandate from the country would search.
Mr. Johnson, a former journalist, told reporters who accompanied him on the trip to the NATO summit in Madrid: “You know what, I realized where I went wrong with all this.
“I have to admit that years and years ago I did the kind of work that you all do now, and it was a wonderful, wonderful life and a great privilege.
“What you can do is to offer opinion, comments, analysis, predictions about politics, about individuals and so on.
“I think I have to admit that I am no longer a member of that holy guild.
“It will be a demarcation dispute for me to go over and start talking about politics.
“I need to talk about my program for the government, about policy, and what I do to take the country forward.”
Asked if he ruled out an early election, he said: “I’m just saying, I’m not commenting on that kind of thing.
He added: “The idea did not occur to me, if you really want the truth, because I am focused on coming through the pressure of cost of living, developing and improving our plan for a stronger economy. to expand, and to make sure that we continue to provide leadership on some of the difficult global issues facing the world. ”
Asked if he was leaning towards a quick election, he said: “I am not commenting, what I am trying to convey to you is that I am here to comment on policy, on the government agenda.”
His comments came when The Times reported that staff at Conservative Party headquarters had the idea of calling a quick election if Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer was forced to resign as a result of Durham police’s investigation into alleged violations of coronavirus rules.