Boris was the toast of Westminster’s elite last night, as the former Prime Minister made a grand entrance (albeit 45 minutes late, as is his usual form) at the swanky Institute of Directors on Pall Mall for the launch of his book, “Unleashed”. The room was packed with hacks and cabinet ministers of past and present. Of the leadership hopefuls, only Cleverly showed up, managing to sneak a snap with the former Prime Minister. Doesn’t mean it’s an endorsement from BoJo, though..
Boris’ speech was (characteristically) peppered with jokes. He quipped his publisher commissioned Starmer to write his vision for Britain for £18,000 in advance but, unable to produce anything, he returned the money – “ a totally uncharacteristic decision” – that paid for the launch party. The former PM then went on to reflect on the string of “random events” that derailed his reign:
“If only Dylan the dog had not so rudely rogered the leg of one of my senior advisors…If only I had not gone out to an excessively convivial dinner with Charles Moore and others after the triumphant UK chairmanship of COP26…If only my friend Chris Pincher had not allowed his hand to wander freely. If only, above all, a certain short-sighted pangolin had not made a pass at a bat in a cave in Wuhan, or possibly a lab, or wherever it went. “
One insider who was in the room said:
“It was classic Boris on best form, the room was rammed, as the misery of the Tory leadership drags on, everyone left thinking: what the hell did we get rid of him for?”
If only, Boris said, he could “have saved this country from an insane Marxist Labour party.” He went on to tease: “I feel it would be much better if I was to run the show”. Never say never…
Boris has done a long interview with Wilfred Frost on Sky News. Apart from pointing out that the public ‘craved’ lockdown rules, Boris had a few words about his old chum Sue Gray:
“I appointed Sue Gray, who then turned out to be the Chief of Staff leader of the Labour Party – RIP… “
Boris issued his analysis of the current Downing Street implosion:
“At the time that I asked her to do that particular job, she had presented to me as a model of political impartiality and propriety, and I’m not certain about either of those things…. I thought it was always looking a bit dodgy – her position was probably going to be untenable ever since it emerged that her son had taken money from Waheed Alli, and that she’d then given Waheed Alli a pass to No 10. I thought that was probably going to end in the way that it has.”
Cronies gonna crony…
Boris is doing a media spree ahead of the release of his book ‘Unleashed.’ In an interview with the Telegraph he enters currently contentious territory to say there should be a referendum on the UK’s membership of the ECHR:
“I’ve been persuaded by that. I think it has changed. It has become much more legally adventurist. It’s trying to second-guess what national jurisdiction should do. There’s a strong case for a proper referendum, a proper discussion about it, because I’m not certain that it actually provides people with protections that they wouldn’t otherwise have.”
Since 1978’s “living instrument doctrine” the ECtHR has had to power to jump into a huge range of domestic issues and has increasingly actively intervened where possible on Rwanda. Like blocking flights with a privately-issued injunction by one judge at the eleventh hour…
Boris insists he’s staying neutral in the leadership race though this has pricked the ears of Robert Jenrick’s leadership camp, which has been pushing throughout the race to leave the ECHR and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. They say it’s “not unhelpful.” The other three candidates prefer to stay in…
Laura Kuenssberg was all set to grill Boris Johnson in what was hyped to be a blockbuster sit-down—the first big interview since his exit from Number 10. Trailers aired, excitement mounted, and the BBC spun it as the political clash of the season. Now it’s had to be unceremoniously pulled…
Laura accidentally sent her briefing notes— including all the questions and her interview strategy – straight to Johnson’s WhatsApp, instead of her production team. Unsurprisingly, the interview’s now been scrapped, with Kuenssberg sheepishly confirming on X:
“It’s very frustrating, and there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing, as there are plenty of important questions to be asked. But red faces aside, honesty is the best policy.”
A source familiar with the events tells Guido:
“It was somewhat unexpected to receive the BBC’s questions prior to the interview. There was no way to continue after the questions had been shared – obviously in error – by Laura. I would not want to be a BBC bigwig this morning. I guess everyone will have to tune into GB News instead – no bad thing.”
A reminder that Laura makes £325,000 from her job at the BBC. Licence fee payers’ time and money well spent…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”