James Cleverly, the Conservative's deputy chairman, is considering running as the party's candidate in the London mayoral election in two years time.

Mr Cleverly, the MP for Braintree, is understood to this weekend be "50-50" on deciding whether to run. The deadline for applications is midday on Wednesday.

The Tories are desperate to find a seasoned political operator to take on Labour mayor Sadiq Khan and win back London for the Conservatives in 2020.

Justine Greening, the MP for Putney and former Cabinet minister, has ruled herself out of the running as has Baroness Brady, the entrepreneur and star of the BBC's Apprentice series.

Mr Cleverly has repeatedly publicly said he would not run against Mr Khan but he is this weekend reconsidering his decision after approaches from senior party figures.

Senior Tories believe he would be a strong candidate as a former member of the London Assembly, as well as a former Serviceman who was born in Lewisham, east London.