Boris Johnson: Difference between revisions

John Randall
Majority	5,034 (10.8%)
Member of Parliament for Henley
In office 9 June 2001 – 4 June 2008
Preceded by	Michael Heseltine
Succeeded by	John Howell
Personal details
Born	Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (1964-06-19) 19 June 1964 (age 60) New York City, New York, U.S.
Citizenship	British United States (1964–2016)
Political party	Conservative
Spouses	Allegra Mostyn-Owen ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 1993)​ Marina Wheeler ​ ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	5
Relatives	1 Carlton Gardens[1]
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Signature
Website	Commons website

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964), known as Boris Johnson, is a British politician,

Johnson is a controversial figure in British politics and journalism. Supporters have praised him as an entertaining, humorous, and popular figure with appeal beyond traditional Conservative voters. Conversely, he has been criticised by figures on both the left and right, accused of elitism, cronyism, dishonesty, laziness, and using racist language. Johnson is the subject of several biographies and a number of fictionalised portrayals.

Early life

Childhood: 1964–1977

Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 at a hospital on the

Johnson's parents were then living in an apartment opposite the Chelsea Hotel,^[13] although they soon embarked on a tour of Canada and New England with their newborn.^[14] In September 1964, they returned to Britain, enabling Charlotte to study for a degree at the University of Oxford.^[15] She lived with her son in Summertown, Oxford and gave birth to a daughter, Rachel, in 1965.^[14] In July 1965, the family moved to Crouch End in North London;^[16] in February 1966, they relocated to Washington D.C., where Stanley had gained employment with the World Bank.^[17] A third child, Leo, was born in September 1967, while Charlotte took up the painting for which she would become publicly known.^[18] Stanley then gained employment with a policy panel on population control, in June moving the family to Norwalk, Connecticut.^[19]

In 1969, the family returned to the United Kingdom, settling into Stanley's family farm at Nethercote, near

Johnson was awarded a

Johnson won a scholarship to read

Johnson and Mostyn-Owen married in West Felton, Shropshire, in September 1987; a violin piece was specially commissioned for the wedding from Hans Werner Henze.^[73] The couple honeymooned in Egypt before settling into a flat in West Kensington, West London.^[74] There, Johnson secured work for a management consultancy company, L.E.K. Consulting; finding it incredibly boring, he resigned after a week.^[75] Through family connections, in late 1987 he began work as a graduate trainee at The Times, shadowing one of its journalists.^[76] Scandal erupted when Johnson wrote an article on the archaeological discovery of Edward II's palace for the newspaper. Johnson invented a quote for the article that he falsely claimed came from the historian Colin Lucas, his own godfather. After The Times' editor Charles Wilson learned of the deception, Johnson was sacked.^[77][78]

Johnson secured employment on the leader-writing desk of The Daily Telegraph, having known its editor, Max Hastings, through his Oxford University presidency.^[79] His articles were designed to appeal to the newspaper's conservative, middle-class, middle-aged "Middle England" readership^[80] and were known for their unique literary style, replete with old-fashioned words and phrases, and for regularly referring to the readership as "my friends".^[81] In early 1989, Johnson was appointed to the newspaper's Brussels bureau to report on the European Commission,^[82] remaining in the post until 1994.^[83] A strong critic of Commission President Jacques Delors, he established himself as one of the few Eurosceptic journalists in the city.^[84] Many of his fellow journalists based in the city were critical of his articles, opining that they often contained untruths designed to discredit the Commission;^[85] "As a journalist in Brussels, he was one of the greatest exponents of fake journalism", Chris Patten told Martin Fletcher in late 2017.^[83]

Johnson biographer

Contemplating a political career, in 1993 Johnson outlined his desire to stand as a Conservative candidate to be a

Scandal erupted in June 1995 when a recording of a 1990 telephone conversation between Johnson and his friend Darius Guppy was made public.[108] In the conversation, Guppy revealed that his criminal activities were being investigated by News of the World journalist Stuart Collier, and he asked Johnson to provide him with Collier's private address, seeking to have the latter beaten up. Johnson agreed to supply the information although he expressed concern that he would be associated with the attack.^[108] When the phone conversation was published in 1995, Johnson insisted that he did not ultimately give the information to Guppy; Hastings reprimanded Johnson's behaviour but did not sack him.^[108]

Johnson was given a regular column in The Spectator, The Daily Telegraph's sister publication; it attracted mixed reviews and was often thought rushed.^[109] In 1999, he was also given a column on new cars in the magazine GQ.^[110] His behaviour regularly annoyed his editors; those at GQ were frustrated by the large number of parking fines that Johnson acquired while testing cars for them,^[105] while he was consistently late in providing his columns for The Telegraph and The Spectator, forcing many staff to stay late to accommodate him; they related that if they went ahead and published without his work included, he would get angry and shout at them with expletives.^[111]

Johnson's appearance on an April 1998 episode of

In July 1999, Conrad Black – the then proprietor of The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator – offered Johnson the editorship of the latter on the condition that he abandoned his parliamentary aspirations; Johnson agreed.^[115] He brought in contributions from figures whom he had known from his past^[116] and, while retaining The Spectator's traditional right-wing bent, he also welcomed contributions from leftist writers and cartoonists.^[117] Under Johnson's editorship, the circulation of The Spectator grew by 10% to 62,000 and it began to turn a profit.^[118] His editorship also drew criticism; some opined that under his leadership The Spectator avoided covering serious issues and focused on trivial topics,^[119] while colleagues became annoyed that he was regularly absent from the office and often missed meetings and events.^[120] He gained a reputation as a poor political pundit as a result of the incorrect political predictions that he made in the magazine,^[119] and was also strongly criticised – including by his father-in-law Charles Wheeler – for allowing Spectator columnist Taki Theodoracopulos to publish racist and anti-Semitic language in the magazine.^[121]

Following the retirement of

Alongside his full-time job as an MP, he continued editing The Spectator, writing columns for The Daily Telegraph and GQ, and making television appearances.^[136] He also published a book, Friends, Voters, Countrymen: Jottings on the Stump, which recounted his experiences during the 2001 election campaign.^[137] His next publication was 2003's Lend Me Your Ears, a collection of previously published columns and articles.^[138] In 2004 this was followed by his first novel, Seventy-Two Virgins: A Comedy of Errors, which revolved around the life of a Conservative MP and contained various biographical elements.^[139] Responding to critics who argued that he was juggling too many positions, he cited prominent Conservative politicians Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli as exemplars who combined their political and writing careers.^[140] To manage the stress he took up jogging and cycling,^[141] and became so well known for the latter that Gimson suggested that he was "perhaps the most famous cyclist in Britain".^[142]

In 2002, in an article Johnson wrote for The Daily Telegraph, he suggested Queen Elizabeth must love touring the Commonwealth because she's greeted by "cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies" and that in the Congo, Tony Blair would be met with "watermelon smiles".^[143][144]

Following William Hague's resignation as Conservative leader, Johnson used The Spectator to support the candidacy of the only pro-EU figure, Kenneth Clarke. Johnson argued that Clarke was the only candidate capable of winning a general election; however, Iain Duncan Smith was selected.^[145] Johnson had a strained relationship with Duncan Smith, and The Spectator became very critical of the latter's party leadership.^[146] Duncan Smith was removed from his position in November 2003 and replaced by Michael Howard; Howard deemed Johnson to be the most popular Conservative politician with the electorate and appointed him vice-chairman of the party, responsible for overseeing its electoral campaign.^[147] In his Shadow Cabinet reshuffle of May 2004, Howard appointed Johnson to the position of shadow arts minister.^[148]

In August 2004, Johnson was one of several MPs who supported the commencement of

In November 2004, the British tabloids revealed that, since 2000, Johnson had been having an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, resulting in two terminated pregnancies. Johnson initially dismissed the claims as "piffle".^[152] After the allegations were proven, Howard asked Johnson to resign from his position as vice-chairman and shadow arts minister, not because of the affair but because he had publicly lied about it. Johnson refused, at which point Howard sacked him from those positions.^[153][154] The scandal was satirised by The Spectator's theatre critics Toby Young and Lloyd Evans in a play, Who's the Daddy?, performed at Islington's King's Head Theatre in July 2005; the play upset Johnson.^[155] In April 2006, the News of the World alleged that Johnson was having an affair with the journalist Anna Fazackerley; both Fazackerley and Johnson refused to comment although the former stepped down from her job and was subsequently employed by Johnson.^[156][157] That month, he attracted further public attention for taking part in a charity football match between former professional footballers and celebrities from England and Germany, in which he rugby-tackled Maurizio Gaudino.^[158] In September 2006, his comparison between the frequently changing leadership of the Conservatives to cannibalism in Papua New Guinea drew criticism from the latter country's high commission.^[159]

In the

In November 2007, in an article Johnson wrote for The Daily Telegraph, during Hillary Clinton's first presidential bid he described her as "a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital."^[143][174]

Mayor of London

Mayoral election: 2008

In March 2007, Johnson suggested that he stand for the position of

Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone took Johnson seriously, referring to him as "the most formidable opponent I will face in my political career."^[187] Livingstone's campaign portrayed Johnson as both an out-of-touch toff and a bigot, as evidenced by racist and homophobic language that he had used in his column; Johnson responded that these quotes had been taken out of context and were meant as satire.^[188] Johnson insisted that he was not a bigot, declaring that "I'm absolutely 100% anti-racist; I despise and loath racism".^[189] Publicly emphasising his Turkish ancestry,^[190] he went contrary to Conservative policy by declaring his support for an earned amnesty for illegal immigrants.^[191] However, the allegations were exacerbated when the far-right British National Party (BNP) urged its supporters to give their second preference votes to Johnson; he responded by "utterly and unreservedly" condemning the BNP.^[192][193] Controversy was also generated during the campaign when Johnson admitted that as a student he had used cannabis and cocaine.^[194]

The election took place in May 2008, and witnessed a turnout of approximately 45% of eligible voters, with Johnson receiving 43.2% and Livingstone 37% of first-preference votes; when second-preference votes were added, Johnson proved victorious with 53.2% to Livingstone's 46.8%.

Settling into the Mayoral offices at

During the electoral campaign, Johnson had confided to Brian Paddick that he was unsure how he would retain his current lifestyle while relying upon the Mayoral salary of £140,000 a year.^[211] To resolve this problem, he agreed to continue his Telegraph column alongside his Mayoral job, thus earning a further £250,000 a year.^[212] His team believed that this would cause controversy, and made him promise to donate a fifth of his Telegraph fee to a charitable cause providing bursaries for students. Johnson resented this, and ultimately did not pay a full fifth.^[213] Controversy erupted when he was questioned about his Telegraph fee on BBC's HARDtalk; here, he referred to the £250,000 as "chicken feed", something that was widely condemned given that this was roughly ten times the average yearly wage for a British worker.^{[214][215][216]}

Johnson made no major changes to the mayoral system as developed by Livingstone.

Johnson assumed control at City Hall on 4 May 2008. He appointed Richard Barnes as his Deputy Mayor on 6 May 2008, as well as appointing the following to newly devolved offices; Ian Clement as Deputy Mayor for Government Relations, Kit Malthouse as Deputy Mayor for Policing and Ray Lewis as Deputy Mayor for Young People.^[237] The Mayor also appointed Munira Mirza as his cultural adviser and Nick Boles, the founder of Policy Exchange, as Chief of Staff.^[238] Sir Simon Milton became Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, as well as Chief of Staff.^[237] Political opponents questioned Johnson's judgement when Ray Lewis resigned on 4 July 2008, shortly after taking up his post, following allegations of financial misconduct during his prior career as a Church of England priest and inappropriate behaviour in respect of a false claim to have been appointed as a magistrate.^[239]

During the first term of his mayoralty, Johnson was perceived as having moved leftward on certain issues, for instance by supporting the

Johnson championed London's financial sector and denounced what he saw as "banker bashing" following the

The formation of the Forensic Audit Panel was announced on 8 May 2008. The Panel is tasked with monitoring and investigating financial management at the

Up for re-election in 2012, Johnson again hired Crosby to orchestrate his campaign.^[279] Before the election, Johnson published Johnson's Life of London, a work of popular history which the historian A. N. Wilson characterised as a "coded plea" for votes.^[280] Polls suggested that while Livingstone's approach to transport was preferred, voters in London placed greater trust in Johnson over issues of crime and the economy.

London was successful in its bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics while Ken Livingstone was still Mayor in 2005. Johnson's role in the proceedings was to be the co-chair of an Olympic board which oversaw the Games.^[285] Two of his actions subsequent to taking on this role were to improve the transport around London by making more tickets available and laying on more buses around the capital during the busy period, when thousands of spectators were temporary visitors in London,^[286][287] and also to allow shops and supermarkets to have longer opening hours on Sundays.^[288] However Johnson was accused of covering up pollution ahead of the games by deploying dust suppressants to remove air particulates near monitoring stations.^[223] In November 2013, Johnson announced major changes to the operation of London Underground, including the extension of Tube operating hours to run through the night at weekends. The announcement also revealed that all staffed Underground ticket offices would be closed with the aim of saving over £40 million a year, with automated ticketing systems provided instead.^[289][290]

In February 2012, he criticised London's Saint Patrick's Day gala dinner celebrations, linking them to Sinn Féin and branding the event "Lefty crap",^[291] for which he later apologised.^[292]

In February 2013, during a London Assembly meeting following the publication of the 2014 budget for London, Johnson was ejected from the meeting following a vote and on the grounds that his Deputy Victoria Borwick had left the chamber. Upon realising that the vote meant that he would not be questioned on the budget, Johnson referred to his political opponents as "great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies".^[293]

Johnson attended the launch of the World Islamic Economic Forum in London in July 2013, where he answered questions alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. He joked that Malaysian women attended university in order to find husbands, causing some offence among female attendees.^[294][295]

In 2014, Johnson pushed his biography of Churchill, The Churchill Factor, with media emphasising how Johnson repeatedly compared himself to Churchill throughout.^[296]

In April 2016, in an article for

In 2016, three German-made water cannon, which he had bought for the Metropolitan Police without waiting for clearance for use by Theresa May, were sold by his successor, with the funds going to youth services.^[299]

Johnson may be investigated for

Misconduct in public office due to excessive money spent on a proposed Thames Garden Bridge that was never built. Labour MP Andrew Gwynne said, "Boris Johnson drove forward this project during his mayoralty, and he needs to provide answers on the role he and his office played in the reckless decision to release public funds for the construction contract."^[300] Pressure on Johnson is increasing and there is skepticism over his attempted explanations.^[301]

Return to Parliament

Brexit campaign: 2015–2016

Johnson initially denied that he would return to the House of Commons while remaining Mayor.

United Kingdom general election, 2015 took place on 7 May and Johnson was elected. There was much speculation that he had returned to Parliament because he wanted to replace Cameron as Conservative leader and Prime Minister.^[305]

Johnson became the centre of media interest in early 2016 when he refused to clarify his support for

Prime Minister at the time, specifically addressed Johnson's claim, publicly stating; "the idea that our country isn't independent is nonsense. This whole debate demonstrates our sovereignty."^[316]

Following the success of the "Leave" campaign in the referendum, Cameron announced his resignation, and Johnson was widely regarded as the front-runner in

the election of his replacement, both as Conservative leader and as Prime Minister.^[317][318] In what was anticipated to be the launch of his leadership campaign, Johnson declared he would not campaign for leader, as he did not believe he could provide the necessary unity or leadership for the party.^[319] This followed the surprise launch of a leadership campaign by Michael Gove, previously seen as a key ally of the Johnson campaign, who said (earlier that morning) that he had reluctantly come to the conclusion that Johnson "cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead."^{[320][321][322]} The Telegraph stated that Gove's actions in undermining Johnson's leadership aspirations constituted "the most spectacular political assassination in a generation."^[323] Meanwhile, Michael Heseltine stated that Johnson had "ripped apart" the Conservative Party and that "He's created the greatest constitutional crisis of modern times. He knocked billions off the value of the nation's savings".^[324]

Johnson then endorsed Andrea Leadsom as a candidate for the Conservative leadership, but she dropped out of the race a week later.^[325]

Foreign Secretary: 2016–present

After

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 13 July 2016.^[326] Johnson's appointment was criticised by some journalists and foreign politicians due to his history of controversial statements about other countries and their leaders.^{[327][328][329]} Former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt said "I wish it was a joke", and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated: "I am not at all worried about Boris Johnson, but ... during the campaign he lied a lot to the British people and now it is he who has his back against the wall" as the UK tries to negotiate its future relationship with EU.^[330] Conversely, former Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott welcomed the appointment and called him "a friend of Australia".^[329] A senior official in the US government suggested that Johnson's appointment would push the US further towards ties with Germany at the expense of the Special Relationship with the UK.^[331]

Several analysts described the appointment as a possible tactic by May to weaken Johnson politically: the new positions of "Brexit Secretary" and International Trade Secretary leave the Foreign Secretary as a figurehead with few powers,^[326][332] and the appointment would ensure that Johnson would often be out of the country and unable to organise a rebel coalition, while also forcing him to take responsibility for any problems caused by withdrawing from the EU.^[333][334]

In August 2016, May called on "feuding ministers" Johnson and Liam Fox to 'stop playing games' after Fox wrote to Johnson saying that British trade couldn't flourish whilst future policy responsibility remained in Johnson's department.^[335] His recorded message supporting Change Britain was perceived by The Guardian as putting pressure on May to speed up the exit process though the paper also recorded the fury of former health minister Anna Soubry at the absence of the central "£350m-a-week bonanza for the NHS" pledge -a pledge she had previously described as a lie.^[336] In an article critical of Leave campaign figures, which noted his video and his lack of support for May, The Washington Post called him "bombastic".^[337]

Johnson supported the

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and refused to block UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia,^[338] saying there is no clear evidence of breaches of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen.^[339] In September 2016, he was accused of blocking the UN inquiry into Saudi war crimes in Yemen.^[340]

Johnson's first visit to Turkey as

Foreign Secretary was somewhat tense due to his having won Douglas Murray's poetry competition about the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, four months earlier.^[341] When questioned by a journalist whether he would apologise for the poem, which was published by The Spectator, Johnson dismissed the matter as "trivia".^[342] Johnson pledged to help Turkey join the European Union in "any way possible" and expressed Britain’s continued support for the elected Turkish Government.^[343]

Upon meeting with Australian Foreign Minister,

Lord Wallace of Saltaire said that Johnson's work on Brexit had left civil servants "in despair" and that he was "alienating other EU foreign ministers". The Foreign Office defended Johnson.^[345]

In December 2016, at the Med 2 conference in Rome, Johnson said: "There are politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion in order to further their own political objectives. That's one of the biggest political problems in the whole region... That's why you've got the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and puppeteering and playing proxy wars".[346] These comments were interpreted as a diplomatic gaffe in Britain as Saudi Arabia is an ally of Britain and the biggest buyer of British arms.^{[346][347][348]}

British prime minister Theresa May said that the foreign minister's comments did not represent the government's view.^[349] Other Conservatives however defended Johnson. Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson said: "I think Boris Johnson was absolutely right about what he said about proxy wars and about Iran. And I agree with his analysis. Now, that might not be the position of the UK Government but guess what - I am not in the UK Government and I think he was right." Later that month, Johnson visited Bahrain, met Saudi leaders and praised Saudi Arabia, saying it was "securing itself from bombardment by the Hoothis" in Yemen.^[350]

Following the

2017 general election, Johnson denied media reports that he intended to challenge Theresa May for leadership of the Conservative Party.^[351] He further denied this media speculation on September 16, 2017 as well, insisting on his Twitter page that he was "all behind Theresa for a glorious Brexit."^[352]

In August 2017, Rachel Sylvester reported in The Times that Johnson was ineffective and incoherent on major issues like North Korea and Qatar whilst on Brexit, he appeared to have no idea of what was required. His rhetoric seemed to suggest that the UK could dictate the terms "as if it was some kind of public school game rather than a negotiation on which the future of the nation depends." Sylvester believed that both European ministers and White House officials regard him as a joke.^[353] This follows a Today programme interview in June on the Queens speech where, asked about the Government's answer to the "burning injustices," highlighted by Theresa May when she became prime minister, he showed a lack of understanding of the issues sufficiently serious to require prompting by Eddie Mair.^[354]

In an op-ed published in The Daily Telegraph in September 2017, Johnson reiterated that the UK would regain control of £350m a week after Brexit saying it would be fine thing if much of the money went on the NHS.^[355] He was subsequently criticised by Cabinet colleagues for reviving the assertion, and was accused of "clear misuse of official statistics" by the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Sir David Norgrove.^[356][357] The authority rejected the suggestion that it was quibbling over newspaper headlines and not Johnson's actual words.^[357] A few days later, on 19 September, the former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke said that Johnson would have been sacked if British politics were in a more straightforward period.^[358] Immediately ahead of the party conference, noting a second Johnson speech setting out terms for Brexit even before determination by the Cabinet, Ruth Davidson called for "serious people" to take over his role, criticised his overoptimism and predicted that Britain would “look very much like it looks now” after the transitional period.^[359]

On 27 February 2018 in a leaked letter to Theresa May, Johnson suggested that Northern Ireland may have to accept border controls after Brexit and that it wouldn't seriously affect trade having initially said a hard border would be unthinkable. 28 February 2018 he turned again stating he would publish his 18-page letter in full online as he recommitted to ruling out a hard border after Britain’s divorce from Brussels.^[360]

Johnson caused controversy on a number of occasions. Whilst visiting a temple in Myanmar, formerly Burma, the British ambassador prevented him from reciting lines from Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Road to Mandalay," stopping him a verse before a line which refers to the Bhudda as a Bloomin' idol made o' mud^[361] The ambassador described the colonial era poem as "not appropriate".^[362][363] While speaking at the

Libyan Government of National Accord, could be the new Dubai, adding, "all they have to do is clear the dead bodies away".^[364] Following his remarks several Tory MPs called for his sacking.^[365] According to The Economist, as Foreign Secretary Johnson “is ridiculed abroad and disliked in the Foreign Office.”^[366]

Writing in the New Statesman, Martin Fletcher suggested that Johnson is harming British interests abroad. Fletcher wrote that a senior European diplomat based in London said that Johnson was "not taken seriously as a foreign policy actor" and was damaging British interests. He suggested that three-fifths of the 27 EU ambassadors in London quite like Johnson but consider him ill-suited to the job, while the remaining two-fifths "positively dislike him". My interlocutors are, of course, experts in their field and fully paid-up members of the metropolitan elite. (...) I, too, am dismayed by the harm that Johnson is doing to my country and appalled by the possibility of him becoming prime minister."^[367]

On 1 November 2017, Johnson told the

Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry and former Conservative Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind all called on Johnson to retract his words. Johnson insisted that he had been misquoted, and that nothing he had said had justified Zaghari-Ratcliffe's sentence.^[369][370]

In December 2017, Johnson told The Sunday Times newspaper, "I was reading Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian war. It was obvious to me that Athens and its democracy, its openness, its culture and civilisation was the analogue of the United States and the West. Russia for me was closed, nasty, militaristic and antidemocratic – like Sparta."^[371]

In response to the

Syrian Kurds from the enclave of Afrin, Johnson said: "Watching developments in Afrin closely. Turkey is right to want to keep its borders secure."^[372]

In March 2018, a Russian former spy,

Novichok nerve agent. Most politicians believed that the Russian government was behind the attack.^[373] In the aftermath of the incident, Johnson provoked controversy when he compared Vladimir Putin's hosting of the World Cup in Russia to Adolf Hitler's hosting of the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936.^[374]

On 20 March 2018, Johnson said in an interview with Deutsche Welle that scientists from the Porton Down laboratory were “absolutely categorical” about the Russian origin of the substance used. "I mean, I asked the guy myself," Johnson said. "I said: 'Are you sure?' And he said: 'There's no doubt.' So we have very little alternative but to take the action that we have taken."^[375] On 3 April 2018, Gary Aitkenhead, the chief executive of the Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down responsible for testing the substance involved in the case, said they they had been unable to verify the "precise source" of the Novichok nerve agent.^[376] Labour MP Chris Williamson tweeted that Johnson had "just lied to justify our country's foreign policy."^[377]

In March 2018, Johnson was reprimanded by Commons Speaker

sexist language. Bercow intervened after Johnson referred to the shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry as Lady Nugee. Mrs Thornberry is married to High Court judge Sir Christopher Nugee - but has chosen to go by her maiden name. Bercow said it was "inappropriate and sexist" to refer to her as Lady Nugee. Johnson subsequently apologised for his "inadvertent sexism".^[378]

Political ideology

Ideologically, Johnson has described himself as a "One-Nation Tory".^[379][380] Academic Tony Travers of the London School of Economics described Johnson as "a fairly classic—that is, small-state—mildly eurosceptic Conservative" who like his contemporaries Cameron and Osborne also embraced "modern social liberalism".^[381] The Guardian agreed that while Mayor, Johnson had blended economic and social liberalism,^[382] with The Economist claiming that in doing so Johnson "transcends his Tory identity" and adopts a more libertarian perspective.^[383] Stuart Reid, Johnson's colleague at The Spectator, described the latter's views as being those of a "liberal libertarian".^[384] Johnson's biographer and friend Andrew Gimson noted that while "in economic and social matters, [Johnson] is a genuine liberal", he retains a "Tory element" to his personality through his "love of existing institutions, and a recognition of the inevitability of hierarchy".^[385]

"[I am] free-market, tolerant, broadly libertarian (though perhaps not ultra-libertarian), inclined to see the merit of traditions, anti-regulation, pro-immigrant, pro-standing on your own two feet, pro-alcohol, pro-hunting, pro-motorist and ready to defend to the death the right of Glenn Hoddle to believe in reincarnation."

Boris Johnson^[129]

Stuart Wilks-Heeg, executive director of Democratic Audit, noted that "Boris is politically nimble",^[381] while biographer Sonia Purnell stated that Johnson regularly changed his opinion on political issues, commenting on what she perceived to be "an ideological emptiness beneath the staunch Tory exterior."^[386] She later referred to his "opportunistic—some might say pragmatic—approach to politics".^[387] Former Mayor Ken Livingstone claimed in an interview with the New Statesman that while he had once feared Johnson as "the most hardline right-wing ideologue since Thatcher", over the course of Johnson's mayoralty he had instead concluded that he was "a fairly lazy tosser who just wants to be there" while doing very little work.^[388] He has sometimes been described as a "populist"^{[389][390][391]} and a "nationalist".^[392]

Although Johnson became widely known for his strongly Eurosceptic articles in The Daily Telegraph, many of his close associates have believed this to be an opportunistic ruse, expressing the view that he is not a genuine Eurosceptic, with some suggesting that he might be sympathetic to the cause of European federalism.^[393] In 2012, for instance, he welcomed the prospect of Turkey's entry into the EU.^[394] Purnell stated that he is "neither truly anti-European nor a Little Englander".^[395]

Purnell has noted that Johnson "is nothing if not an elitist".^[396] In an article titled "Long Live Elitism", Johnson stated that "without elites and elitism man would still be in his caves."^[397] Purnell believed that it was the influence of Johnson's maternal family, the left-wing Fawcetts, that led to him developing "a genuine abhorrence of racial discrimination".^[398]

Public image

Widely known simply as "Boris",

portmanteau of his forename and surname.^[400] Biographer Sonia Purnell described his public persona as "brand Boris", noting that he developed it while at Oxford University.^[401] Max Hastings referred to this public image as a "façade resembling that of P. G. Wodehouse's Gussie Fink-Nottle, allied to wit, charm, brilliance and startling flashes of instability",^[402] while political scientist Andrew Crines stated that Johnson had created "the character of a likable and trustworthy individual with strong intellectual capital".^[403] Private Eye editor Ian Hislop has defined him as "Beano Boris" due to his perceived comical nature, saying: "He's our Berlusconi ... He's the only feel-good politician we have, everyone else is too busy being responsible."^[404] To the journalist Dave Hill, Johnson was "a unique figure in British politics, an unprecedented blend of comedian, conman, faux subversive showman and populist media confection".^[405]

Johnson purposely cultivates a "semi-shambolic look",[406] for instance by specifically ruffling his hair in a certain way for when he makes public appearances.^[407] Purnell described him as "a manic self-promoter" who filled his life with "fun and jokes".^[408] Described by Crines as "a joker",^[403] Johnson has stated that "humour is a utensil that you can use to sugar the pill and to get important points across."^[408] Purnell noted that colleagues regularly expressed the view that Johnson used people to advance his own interests,^[409] with Gimson noting that Johnson was "one of the great flatterers of our times".^[410] Purnell noted that he deflected serious questions using "a little humour and a good deal of bravado".^[411] According to Gimson, Johnson was "a humane man" who "could also be staggeringly inconsiderate of others" when focusing upon his own interests.^[412] Gimson also noted that Johnson has "an excessive desire to be liked".^[413]

File:Donald Trump and Boris Johnson Street Art.jpg

According to Purnell, "[Johnson] is blessed with immense charisma, wit, sex appeal and celebrity gold dust; he is also recognised and loved by millions—although perhaps less so by many who have had to work closely with him (let alone depend on him). Resourceful, cunning and strategic, he can pull off serious political coups when the greater good happens to coincide with his personal advantage but these aspirations are rarely backed up by concrete achievements, or even detailed plans."^[414] Furthermore, Purnell noted that Johnson was a "highly evasive figure" when it came to his personal life,^[415] who remained detached from others and who had very few if any intimate friends.^[416] Among friends and family, Johnson is known as "Al" rather than "Boris".^[417] Gimson stated that Johnson "has very bad manners. He tends to be late, does not care about being late, and dresses without much care".^[418] Highly ambitious and very competitive, Gimson noted that Johnson was born "to wage a ceaseless struggle for supremacy".^[419] He would be particularly angered with those he thought insulted aspects of his personal life; for instance, when an article in The Telegraph upset Johnson he e-mailed commissioning editor Sam Leith with the simple message "Fuck off and die."^[420] Thus, Purnell notes, Johnson hides his ruthlessness "using bumbling, self-deprecation or humour",^[421] adding that he was a fan of "laddish banter and crude sexual references".^[422]

Johnson is a fluent speaker of French and Italian, has a good grasp of German and Spanish,^[82] and is a lover of Latin,^[423] frequently using classical references in his newspaper columns and speeches.^[401]

Stating that in the past he has "often smoked cannabis",

medical marijuana.^[425]

"Boris is an original—the opposite of a stereotype, the exception to the rule. Overweight and goosey-fleshed, he's the antithesis of an airbrushed pin-up. He resembles a 'human laundry-basket' and has a habit of forgetting to shower."

Biographer Sonia Purnell, [386]

Johnson is a controversial figure in British politics and journalism.^[426][427] Purnell described Johnson as "the most unconventional, yet compelling politician of the post-Blair era" in British politics.^[415] She added that in Britain, he was "beloved by millions and recognised by all".^[415] Giles Edwards and Jonathan Isaby commented that Johnson appealed to "a broad cross-section of the public",^[428] with his friends characterising him as a "Heineken Tory" who can appeal to voters that other Conservatives cannot.^[429] Gimson expressed the view that "people love him because he makes them laugh",^[430] noting that he had become "the darling of the Tory rank and file".^[431]

Purnell recognised that during the 2008 mayoral election, he was "polarising opinions to the extreme",^[432] with critics viewing him as "variously evil, a clown, a racist and a bigot".^[433] Writing in The Guardian, journalist Polly Toynbee for instance referred to him as "jester, toff, self-absorbed sociopath and serial liar",^[434] while Labour politician Hazel Blears called him "a nasty right-wing elitist, with odious views and criminal friends".^[435] More recently, Johnson has evoked comparisons with United States President Donald Trump.^{[436][437][438]} In June 2016, Nick Clegg described him as "like Donald Trump with a thesaurus",^[439] while fellow Conservative MP Kenneth Clarke described him as a "nicer Donald Trump"^[440] and EU official Martin Selmayr described the potential election of Johnson and Trump to the leadership of their respective countries as a "horror scenario".^[441] However, Johnson has criticised Trump on a number of occasions.^[442][443]

Personal life

Johnson is the eldest of the four children of

PricewaterhouseCoopers;^[446] and Jo Johnson, Minister of State for Universities and Science and Conservative MP for Orpington. Johnson's stepmother, Jenny, the second wife of his father Stanley, is the stepdaughter of Teddy Sieff, the former chairman of Marks & Spencer.^[447] In April 2017, Rachel Johnson joined the Liberal Democrats in protest against Conservative's Brexit policies; she was a member of the Conservatives 2008–11.^[448]

In 1987, he married Allegra Mostyn-Owen, the daughter of the art historian William Mostyn-Owen and the Italian writer Gaia Servadio;^[449] the marriage was dissolved in 1993.^[450] Later that year, he married Marina Wheeler, a barrister and daughter of journalist and broadcaster Charles Wheeler and his wife, Dip Singh.^[451] The Wheeler and Johnson families have known each other for decades,^[452] and Marina Wheeler was at the European School in Brussels at the same time as her future husband. They have four children: two daughters, Lara and Cassia, and two sons, Milo and Theodore.^[453] Johnson and his family live in Islington, North London.

In 2009, Johnson fathered a daughter with Helen MacIntyre, an arts consultant. Her existence was the subject of legal action in 2013 with the

Court of Appeal quashing an injunction seeking to ban reporting of her existence; the judge ruled that the public had a right to know about Johnson's "reckless" behaviour.^{[454][455][456]}

Citizenship

Johnson had

dual citizenship in both the United Kingdom and the United States, since he was born in New York City to English parents. In 2014, Johnson acknowledged he was disputing a demand for capital gains tax from the US tax authorities,^[457][458] which ultimately he paid.^[459] In February 2015, he announced his intention to give up US citizenship to prove his loyalty to the UK.^[460][461] In 2016, he renounced his US citizenship.^[462]

See also

• Electoral history of Boris Johnson
• List of foreign ministers in 2017
• List of current foreign ministers

References

Footnotes

Sources

Crines, Andrew S. (2013). "Why did Boris Johnson win the 2012 mayoral election?". Public Policy and Administration Research. 3 (9): 1–7. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Edwards, Giles; Isaby, Jonathan (2008). Boris v. Ken: How Boris Johnson Won London. London: Politico's.

ISBN 978-1842752258. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help

)

Gimson, Andrew (2012).

Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson (second ed.). Simon & Schuster. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help

)

Hill, Dave (2016). Zac Versus Sadiq: The Fight to Become London Mayor. Not specified: Double Q.

ISBN 978-1-911079-20-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help

)

Hosken, Andrew (2008).

ISBN 978-1-905147-72-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help

)

Johnson, Stanley (2009). Stanley I Presume. London: Fourth Estate.

ISBN 978-0007296736

.

Purnell, Sonia (2011). Just Boris: Boris Johnson: The Irresistible Rise of a Political Celebrity. London: Aurum Press Ltd.

ISBN 1-84513-665-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help

)

Ruddock, Andy (2006). "Invisible Centers: Boris Johnson, Authenticity, Cultural Citizenship and a Centrifugal Model of Media Power". Social Semiotics. 16 (2): 263–282. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Yates, Candida (2010). "Turning to Flirting: Politics and the Pleasures of Boris Johnson". Rising East Essays. 2 (1). {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Bibliography

• Johnson's Column (Continuum International – Academi)
  ISBN 0-8264-6855-1
• Friends, Voters, Countrymen (HarperCollins, 2001)
  ISBN 0-00-711913-5
• Lend Me Your Ears (HarperCollins, 2003)
  ISBN 0-00-717224-9
• Seventy-Two Virgins (HarperCollins, 2004)
  ISBN 0-00-719590-7
• Aspire Ever Higher / University Policy for the 21st century (Politeia, 2006)
• ISBN 0-00-722441-9
• Have I Got Views For You (HarperPerennial, 2006)
  ISBN 0-00-724220-4
• Life in the Fast Lane: The Johnson Guide to Cars (HarperPerennial, 2007)
  ISBN 0-00-726020-2
• The Perils of the Pushy Parents: A Cautionary Tale (HarperPress 2007)
  ISBN 0-00-726339-2
• Johnson's Life of London (HarperPress 2011)
  ISBN 0-00-741893-0
• The Churchill Factor (Hodder & Stoughton 2014)
  ISBN 978-1-44-478302-5

Further reading

• ISBN 978-1-905641-64-2
• A. Vasudevan. The Thinking Man's Idiot: The Wit and Wisdom of Boris Johnson (New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd., 2008)
  ISBN 978-1-84773-359-7

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Boris Johnson.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boris Johnson.

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Boris Johnson column archives at The Telegraph
• Portraits of Boris Johnson at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• Template:Worldcat id
• Boris Johnson at
  IMDb
• Boris Johnson on Samuel Johnson, BBC Radio 4 Great Lives: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mg74v

News articles

• The Boris Johnson story, Brian Wheeler, BBC News, 4 May 2008
• Boris Johnson address about the economic downturn at the Movers & Shakers Property Breakfast, Gleeds TV, March 2009 (video)
• Students interview Boris Johnson at the Beyond Sport conference, Radiowaves, 9 July 2009
• The NS Interview: Boris Johnson, Jon Bernstein, New Statesman, 26 February 2010
• 200 Achievements of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London, ConservativeHome, 2 October 2010
• The Boris dilemma, James Macintyre, Prospect, 21 September 2011

Media offices
Preceded by Frank Johnson	Editor of The Spectator 1999–2005	Succeeded by Matthew d'Ancona
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Michael Heseltine	2008	Succeeded by John Howell
Preceded by John Randall	2015 –present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Gerald Howarth	Shadow Minister for the Arts 2004	Succeeded by Tony Baldry
Preceded by Stephen O'Brien	Shadow Minister for Higher Education 2005–2007	Succeeded by Rob Wilson
Preceded by Ken Livingstone	2016	Succeeded by Sadiq Khan
Preceded by Philip Hammond	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 2016–present	Incumbent