Scandal is unlikely to stop him
TEN doesn’t come close. She discovered about Carrie after reading messages on his phone. It was the final straw. As the full truth of Boris’s behaviour became clear she told friends she wanted to cause maximum damage.
“She knew Boris was planning a big speech at the Tory party conference later this month which might make or break his bid to become PM.
“Her intention was to help leak details of his behaviour before then.
“But in the end the truth came out via friends and Boris knew he had no choice but to confirm his marriage was over. If Boris thinks Marina is going to walk away from this quietly he is deluded. She is furious.”
However pals close to Boris hope that Marina will stand by the sentiment in the joint statement the pair released last week in which they described themselves as friends. AS he scuttled off from the Foreign Office, the suspicion was that Boris Johnson would spend the summer plotting.
Things went quiet for a while. Then, right on cue, he surfaced.
First, Steve Bannon – the man who invented Donald Trump – gave him an endorsement.
Then came Mr Johnson’s infamous burka jibes. Amid the controversy, he came out to offer waiting reporters a cuppa.
So we had the positioning, the personality, what about the politics? Then he unveiled a housing policy. No doubt now.
And to remove any trace of uncertainty he publicly laid into Prime Minister over Brexit.
As a plan, it was perfect. What next – a leadership contest? Then, this week, No10 fought back with what looked like a well-timed smear.
It was claimed Boris smeared himself to “clear the decks” before a leadership bid.
That doesn’t ring true. There’s not a chance Mr Johnson would have used his daughter Lara in any kind of leak.
So it looks like a classic hitjob. The question is, will it work? And the answer is probably no.
There is very little, say observers, that can touch him. Adultery, being stuck on zipwires, casual racism – they should sink him but they don’t.
To make his move now he must believe he has the numbers and the support in Parliament.