EU diplomats shocked by Boris’s ‘four-letter reply’ to concerns about business
Talking of the PM’S move for a softer Brexit, he was heard to say: ‘We will fight it and win’
BORIS JOHNSON was embroiled in a diplomatic row with Brussels last night after he was accused of using a fourletter word to dismiss an ambassador’s question about the post-brexit needs of British business.
EU diplomats have claimed that during a Foreign Office reception to celebrate the Queen’s birthday last week, the Foreign Secretary was asked about the fears of some business leaders over Brexit and replied: “F--- business.”
He was also overheard talking about Theresa May’s move towards a softer Brexit and saying: “We will fight it and we will win.” Mr Johnson was in conversation with Rudolf Huygelen, Belgium’s ambassador to the EU, at the event in Lancaster House, London, when he was overheard by two diplomatic sources making the comments.
Mr Johnson admitted Britain was more divided now than it had been since the Civil War, after a speech in which he rhapsodised over the “wonderful project called Brexit”, it is claimed. Sources close to Mr Johnson disputed whether he used the bad language alleged, while insisting that he had been attacking business lobbyists such as the Confederation of British Industry), which wanted a policy that suited its vested interests rather than working people.
News of the alleged outburst was greeted with disbelief in Brussels. One
EU-27 diplomat told The Telegraph: “It is shocking for him to declare he would take the battle directly to Theresa May and speaking so openly about it. He wasn’t hiding his intentions at all. I was shocked by how crude and crass he was.”
An EU diplomat from another country said, “The Conservatives are meant to be the party of business, but now it looks like the European Commission is the best friend of British business.”
Last night a source close to Mr Johnson said: “No one has done more to back hard-working British businesses than Boris.”
Writing in the Sun yesterday, Mr Johnson warned Mrs May not to allow “some sort of bog roll Brexit” that was yielding and “seemingly infinitely long”. He added that regardless of how people voted in the referendum, they “just want us to get on and do it”, adding: “They want this government to fulfil the mandate of the people and deliver a full British Brexit.”