Boris Johnson ‘back-seat driving’ over Brexit

Boris Johnson has been accused of being a Brexit “back-seat driver” by the home secretary. Amber Rudd said it was fine for Mr Johnson to show his enthusiasm but he was not “driving the car” after he set out his vision for the UK post-Brexit on Saturday. She said ministers must be united in their approach and help the prime minister manage the Brexit process. Lib Dem leader Vince Cable urged the prime minister to “fire this guy on Monday morning”, warning that if she did not act her authority would be “reduced to zero”. The home secretary said she had been too busy dealing with the terror attack in London to read the foreign secretary’s article in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph. But asked about Mr Johnson’s intervention, she said: “You could call it back-seat driving, absolutely.” “I don’t want him managing the Brexit process, what we have got is Theresa May managing the process, driving the car. I am going to make sure, as far as I and the rest of the cabinet is concerned, we help her do that.” Asked whether she shared the concerns of those - including Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson - who have criticised the timing of the intervention. she said they had a point. “I know what an irrepressible enthusiast (Johnson) is about Brexit, and what he’s done is set it out there, I think it’s absolutely fine, I would expect nothing less from Boris,” she said. When asked if the article was a leadership challenge, Rudd said “no, I don’t think it is”. “I think that he, like I, supports the prime minister at this difficult time as we try to conclude the negotiations with the EU.” After his article’s publication in the Telegraph Mr Johnson later tweeted he was “all behind Theresa for a glorious Brexit”. In his article, Mr Johnson said the UK should not be giving the EU any money to gain access to the single market after Brexit and said he would like to see a lot of the money recovered from Brussels going to the NHS, repeating the disputed referendum claim that exit could provide an extra £350m for the health service. The intervention comes just days before the prime minister makes a major speech on Brexit in Florence, amid speculation she is prepared to announce some kind of deal on transitional trade payments. Ms Rudd has also announced the UK wants to agree a new treaty with the EU after it leaves in March 2019 to entrench its existing co-operation on intelligence and security.