A spectre is haunting Downing Street – the spectre of Boris Johnson. The former Prime Minister has been largely content to keep his head down in recent months, quietly cashing millions on the speaking circuit and preparing his Partygate defence. But today the ex-Tory leader has chosen to send a barely-concealed warning to his successor Rishi Sunak about the Northern Irish Protocol, via the usual journalistic cover of briefings from friends and allies.
The front page of the Sunday Telegraph roars about ‘Johnson’s warning to Sunak on NI deal’ and prominently quotes ‘a source close to Mr Johnson’ as saying that: ‘His general thinking is that it would be a great mistake to drop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.’ The legislation was drawn up under Johnson’s premiership and would allow ministers to rip up parts of the Protocol, including ending the contentious role of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It is seen by Brexiteers as the most important bargaining chip with the EU but Sunak reportedly thinks it might not be necessary if a revised deal is secured. The Telegraph report also features quotes from longtime Johnson ally James Duddridge, who warns Sunak that ‘the PM would be unwise to put his own neck on the chopping block’ by championing a deal which involves a role for the ECJ.
Separately, the Sunday Times reports that ‘a friend who recently spoke to Johnson’ summarises his view thus: ‘His basic worry is that we took the powers in the bill and we are not using them and we haven’t got as good a deal as we would have because we didn’t stick it’ – a view which it suggests is shared by the European Research Group. The Mail on Sunday meanwhile claims that ‘Mr Johnson has also expressed concern to friends about Mr Sunak’s “custodianship” of Brexit – and in particular the negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol.’ And the same paper also cites ‘allies of Mr Johnson’ as claiming that Sunak has been ‘stung by Boris’s attention-grabbing interventions’ and is being too ‘helpful’ to Harriet Harman’s parliamentary probe into whether he lied to the House.
Much like the SAS are always on standby, so too are the Johnsonsites always on manoeuvres…
Comments