Advertisement

Boris Johnson Dodges Questions On His Political Survival During Ukraine Press Conference

Sophia Sleigh
·2 min read
Boris Johnson poses for a photograph with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv. (Photo: PETER NICHOLLS via Getty Images)
Boris Johnson poses for a photograph with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv. (Photo: PETER NICHOLLS via Getty Images)

Boris Johnson dodged uncomfortable questions about his political survival during a major press conference in Ukraine.

The prime minister was taking questions from journalists when he was asked about the partygate scandal rocking his premiership.

The BBC asked him: “Prime minister, first, have you done enough to survive? Have you done enough to persuade enough colleagues to rescue your premiership?

“And on the issue of Ukraine, why should the international community take your diplomacy seriously, when you’re so preoccupied at home, when you put talking to MPs ahead of talking to President Putin?”

Johnson simply responded by saying his focus was “entirely on delivering on the priorities of the British people” before going on to talk about the security of the UK’s allies.

Prime minister have you done enough to survive?

However, later in the conference Johnson did appear to commit to publishing the full Sue Gray report into the partygate scandal once the Metropolitan police probe is complete.

“Yes, of course we’ll publish everything that we can as soon as the process has been completed,” he said.

It comes as a tenth Conservative MP went on the record calling for him to resign over the scandal.

The PM faced the cameras alongside Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky as part of a trip aimed at showing support for Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

Johnson warned: “It goes without saying that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a political disaster, a humanitarian disaster, in my view it would also be for Russia, for the world, a military disaster as well.

“And the potential invasion completely flies in the face of president Putin’s claims to be acting in the interest of the Ukrainian people.”

Ahead of the talks in Kyiv, Johnson announced £88 million of new funding to promote stable governance in Ukraine and reduce its reliance on Russian energy supplies.

The prime minister had also been due to speak to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin on Monday afternoon, but it was postponed after Johnson had to give a statement to the house over the partygate scandal engulfing his government. The two leaders are now expected to speak on Wednesday afternoon.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.

Related...