It took four attempts over several weeks for MPs to agree, but on 30 October Mr Johnson finally got his wish - just three months into his premiership a date was set for the first December election since 1923. Mr Johnson's prospects had been dealt a devastating blow by the man who was until that point the chair of his campaign - Michael Gove. Journalist Charlotte Edwardes wrote in The Times in 2019 alleging that Johnson had squeezed her thigh at a private lunch in the offices of the Spectator in 1999 and that another woman had told her he had done the same to her. A Downing Street spokesman denied the allegation. [144] [145] Secret recordings obtained by BuzzFeed News in June 2018 revealed Johnson's dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Theresa May's negotiating style, accusing her of being too collaborative with the European Union in Brexit negotiations. Comparing May's approach to that of the US president Donald Trump – who at the time was engaged in a combative trade war with the EU because it raised tariffs on metal – Johnson said: "Imagine Trump doing Brexit. He'd go in bloody hard... There'd be all sorts of breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he'd gone mad. But actually you might get somewhere. It's a very, very good thought." He also called Philip Hammond and the Treasury "the heart of Remain" and accused individuals of scaremongering over a Brexit "meltdown", saying "No panic. Pro bono publico, no bloody panic. It's going to be all right in the end." [393] To his legion of critics, Mr Johnson remained all style and no substance. A court jester who should be allowed nowhere near high office.

His first term saw the departures of several senior figures in his administration, while he was criticised for his response to the 2011 riots in the capital. In July 2021, Johnson announced that most generalised public health restrictions in England would be lifted and replaced by recommendations. This took place despite an increase in cases driven by the Delta variant. [524] [525]Now Flynn has received a letter of apology on behalf of the chief constable of British Transport Police (BTP), which says the instruction to cover her T-shirt and the brief detention to give that direction were unlawful. It apologises for any distress caused and gives an undertaking that “the wearing of the T-shirt alone will not lead to her arrest or any direction to cover it”. Main articles: Second Johnson ministry, 2020 British cabinet reshuffle, and 2021 British cabinet reshuffle Johnson appointed Rishi Sunak (right) as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle Other candidates may have held cabinet positions - like Home Secretary Theresa May, or the former defence Secretary Liam Fox - but the fight to be David Cameron's successor was seen as his to lose.

Surely, this far into the vaccination programme, and social media being what it is, all politicians know what the jab will involve.

It was a decision his allies have since argued was unavoidable, given the growing strength of UKIP under Nigel Farage, who had eurosceptics in the Conservative Party terrified. But not long afterwards, Mr Johnson was forced to go to Liverpool and apologise for an editorial in The Spectator that claimed the people of the city "wallow" in their "victim status" and incorrectly blamed "drunken fans" for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. Image: Mr Johnson delivers a speech the 2021 Conservative Party conference. Pic: Reuters/Phil Noble