Theresa May has said Boris Johnson is doing an “excellent job” at the Foreign Office, however she could not resist nodding towards his habit of departing from the Downing Street script.
Speaking during prime minister’s questions today Labour MP Peter Dowd asked May:
“In the light of the foreign secretary’s display of chronic foot-in-mouth disease, when deciding on cabinet positions, does the prime minister now regret that pencilling ‘FO’ against his name should have ben instruction not a job offer?”
May praised Johnson, who was not in the Commons chamber, but added another acronym with a sweary double meaning: “He is in short a FFS - a fine foreign secretary.”
Last night, Johnson used a speech at a reception for ambassadors at the Foreign Office to make fun of May for her choice of £995 leather trousers.
“We are so cosmopolitan that we drink more champagne, more prosecco, buy more German cars than anyone else,” he said. “And our wonderful Prime Minister actually wears lederhosen.”
May also recently slapped down Johnson after he voiced public criticism of Saudi Arabia.
And Johnson recently clashed with the prime minister over his call for foreign students to be taken out of he pledge to cut immigration to under 100,000.