Boris fires back at claim he’ll quit as PM in six months
BORIS Johnson last night dismissed extraordinary claims from Dominic Cummings’ father-in-law that he plans to quit within six months. Sir Humphry Wakefield is reported to have told a holidaymaker the Prime Minister is still struggling with the effects of coronavirus and will stand down early next year. He told the visitor to his Chillingham Castle home in Northumberland the PM was like an injured horse, suggesting he was ‘gone in the fetlock’. He added: ‘If you put a horse back to work when it’s injured it will never recover.’ Sir Humphry, an 84-year- old baronet and former soldier, is the father of Mary Wakefield, who is married to the PM’s chief adviser Mr Cummings. Downing Street yesterday rubbished the claim the PM was planning to resign. And Mr Johnson tried to laugh off the suggestion, saying he felt better than ever after going on a post-Covid diet. Speaking to local reporters during a trip to a dockyard in Devon, he said: ‘It’s absolute nonsense. I am feeling, if anything, far better as I’ve lost some weight.’ Mr Johnson has privately admitted to friends that he returned to Downing Street too soon after being hospitalised with coronavirus. But allies insist he has fully recovered, and in recent public appearances he has appeared fit. During an interview in June, he dropped to the floor to perform a press-up to demonstrate he was ‘as fit as a butcher’s dog’. One Whitehall source noted Mr Cummings once told colleagues he would quit No10 after getting Britain out of the EU, adding: ‘I’m not sure the Cummings family is the most reliable source when it comes to retirement dates. The PM isn’t going anywhere.’
But the timing of the revelation is irritating for No 10, which is trying to underline the fact the PM is back in charge after a brief holiday.
And Sir Humphry’s comments will fuel concerns the PM has yet to recover his mojo fully.
One senior MP said: ‘ He should have taken two months off, instead he took two weeks. He’s maybe at 80 per cent. But in the situation we are in, we need him at 100 per cent.’
Another Tory MP said: ‘ He is a lot better than he was... But he is not back to his best. There is still a sense of drift at the centre of Government – it’s bad.’ The PM was admitted to hospital on April 5 as a precautionary step after contracting Covid days before. The following day he was taken into intensive care, where he spent three nights. After his release on April 12 he spent a fortnight recuperating. The PM has blamed his weight for the severity of his illness and has since lost more than a stone. Sir Humphry, who owns 13th century Chillingham Castle near Bamburgh, is no stranger to controversy. In February he intervened on the side of Home Secretary Priti Patel over claims she bullied staff. The aristocrat, a friend of Prince Philip, accused mandarins who complained about her of acting to protect their ‘relaxed life’.