Boris Johnson’s appointment as Foreign Secretary has provoked astonishment at Westminster and around the globe, with his French counterpart accusing him of lying during the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union.
Shadow leader of the Commons Paul Flynn questioned whether the man who described Barack Obama as “part-Kenyan” and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “wankerer” and had to apologise to the people of Papua New Guinea for associating them with cannibalism possessed the “qualities of diplomacy and truthfulness” required in the role of Britain’s main ambassador to the world.
Labour MP Kevin Brennan told the House of Commons that his appointment was “the most remarkable since the emperor Caligula appointed his horse as a senator.”
Challenged over whether Mr Johnson was ready to take over responsibility for intelligence agency MI6, Chancellor Philip Hammond pointed out that he would receive plentiful support from the “highly skilled and competent” civil servants in the “well-oiled machine” of the Foreign Office.
In a sign of the difficulty Mr Johnson may face in building bridges with opposite numbers around the world, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told Europe 1 radio: “I am not at all worried about Boris Johnson, but you know his style, his method during the campaign.
“He lied a lot to the British people and now it is him who has his back against the wall.
“His back is against the wall to stand up for the interest of his country but also to make the relationship with Europe clear.”
Mr Ayrault added: “I need a partner with whom I can negotiate and who is clear, credible and reliable We cannot let this ambiguous, blurred situation drag on … in the interests of the British themselves.”
Kai Whittaker, an MP in German chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “It’s probably the most astonishing promotion in this Cabinet. I think Theresa May wants to make sure that one of the main Brexit campaigners is taking responsibility for the campaign and for Brexit, and I think it’s a strategic move that it’s better to have him inside the Cabinet than outside.
“People here are slightly astonished that someone who ducked away from responsibility after he did not get the top job is now promoted into the Cabinet, especially as Foreign Secretary.”
But Mr Whittaker said he did not believe Mr Johnson would have difficulties dealing with his German counterpart, pointing to his “international experience” promoting London around the world as mayor.
“We don’t have any other option, but we’ll take it as it comes,” he added.
Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond described Mr Johnson as a “court jester”.
And Mr Flynn said: “He has been sacked twice from previous jobs for not telling the truth. He’s insulted the President of the United States. He’s attacked people from all parts of the world, from Liverpool to Papua New Guinea.
“Do these qualities mean that he’s going to be supreme in the area where the qualities of diplomacy and truthfulness are in demand?
“We’re seeing a government being created, not for the best interests of the country but in order to deal with the perpetual internal war in the Conservative Party between europhiliacs and europhobes.”
