Boris and The Saj bond over Meghan’s £80 favourite wine
BORIS JOHNSON and Sajid Javid talked Election tactics late into the night while drinking the Italian red wine adored by the Duchess of Sussex. The Prime Minister invited the Chancellor and his wife Laura for dinner last weekend at Chequers, marking a dramatic easing of the tension between No 10 and No 11 Downing Street exhibited by their predecessors. Mr Javid arrived at the Buckinghamshire estate with a stash of £80 Tignanello, a Tuscan red that Mr Johnson admitted was his favourite wine last month, and the Chancellor claims to have enjoyed for years. The Duchess of Sussex loves the luxury tipple so much that she even named her now- defunct l i festyle blog The Tig. Mr Johnson’s girlfriend Carrie Symonds, who had previously served as an adviser to Mr Javid, was also present at the dinner. The event marked a clear reset in relations between the two most powerful offices in Government, with Mr Javid given the green light by the Prime Minister to attend any important Downing Street meetings. Insiders say their relationship is much more similar to the one enjoyed by David Cameron and George Osborne, as opposed to their successors, Theresa May and Philip Hammond respectively. A source said: ‘By the end of the last Government, Theresa and Philip could barely stand the sight of each other. Boris and Sajid couldn’t be more different.’
The insider added: ‘They know that the relationship between them will have an impact on the functioning of government and there is goodwill on both sides to make it strong – unlike before. ‘It helps that this Chancellor will be seen as an asset to the party. ‘Sajid is back in the inner circle by attending the PM’s morning meetings. They’re so close that they share a joke – not only has Boris adopted his leadership policies but his wine too.’
As his first policy announcement after taking power, Mr Johnson said 20,000 new police officers would be recruited, which had been Mr Javid’s flagship promise during the Tory leadership election.
During the campaign, Mr Johnson told the website Politico Playbook: ‘ Someone bought me a crate of Tignanello and I had no idea how expensive it was. I was just glugging it back.’
He added: ‘It’s extraordinary stuff, it was delicious. I discovered later that it was the favourite wine of Meghan Markle. I was so amazed by this wine, I thought, “What is this stuff?” ’