May takes aim at Boris’s leadership
THERESA May has launched a stinging attack on Boris Johnson, the man who replaced her as UK prime minister, accusing him of abandoning Britain’s ‘position of global moral leadership’.
Published in the UK Mail today to mark Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president, an article penned by Mrs May takes aim at Mr Johnson’s stubborn stance on Brexit and his Trump-like ‘strongman’ antics.
She suggests her successor has failed to honour British values by threatening to break international law in Brexit trade talks and tearing up the foreign aid target.
The ex-Tory leader says the two actions were not ones that ‘raised our credibility in the eyes of the world’. If Britain is to lead internationally, she says, we must live up to ‘our values’. Mrs May adds that the election of ‘decent’ President Biden offers a ‘golden opportunity’ for Britain to play a key role in making the world safer. But she suggests that her successor, Mr Johnson, will be unable to grasp it unless there is an end to macho diplomacy where a few self-styled ‘strongmen’ like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin ‘face off against each other’.
‘Only through international cooperation can we overcome the shared challenges,’ she argues.
She adds ‘strong leadership’ knows when to compromise.
In a statement issued last night, Mr Johnson pledged to work ‘hand in hand’ with Mr Biden to defend democracy and tackle Britain and America’s ‘shared challenges’. He also went out of his way to stress his determination to help Mr Biden build ‘international co-operation’.
Mrs May also uses her article to condemn Mr Trump over the ‘whipped up’ mob who stormed the US Capitol earlier this month.