Greece trip by father of PM stirs criticism

LONDON — The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended his decision to fly to Greece via Bulgaria to “COVID-proof” his property there before he rents it.

Stanley Johnson told reporters Friday on a dirt track outside his villa on Mount Pelion that he wasn’t “100 percent up to speed” on the British public’s reaction since he went to Greece for “a quiet time, to organize the house.”

The trip has met with criticism for having violated the spirit of Greece’s coronavirus restrictions and the current travel guidance in the U.K.

The Greek government, which has been lauded for the country’s comparatively low number of confirmed coronavirus cases and eager to salvage the summer tourist season, extended its ban on flights from the U.K. until July 15 amid concerns over Britain’s still-high infection rates.

Many also think that the elder Johnson’s trip to Greece via the Bulgarian capital of Sofia went against the advice of Britain’s Foreign Office, which recommends avoiding “all but essential” travel.

“All I can say is that it’s always a great joy to me, it’s such a great joy to me, to arrive in Greece,” Johnson said Friday.

He said he had “just one week to get everything organized” at the property ahead of July 15, the date he anticipates Greece will permit flights from the U.K.

On Friday, the British government said that starting July 10 it will scrap a requirement for people arriving from dozens of countries, including Greece, to spend 14 days in isolation.

Johnson said he is due to return to the U.K. on that date, meaning that under the new guidelines he won’t have to quarantine himself.

He refused to be drawn into a discussion of whether his trip had caused problems for his son, who spent a week hospitalized with COVID-19 in April.