Reports claim Boris Johnson was ‘kept in the dark’ over sensitive intelligence details
Conservative party leadership contender Boris Johnson with supporters. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire - Credit: PA
Theresa May allegedly ordered some information be withheld from Boris Johnson when he entered office in 2016 over fears he could not be trusted.
The Sun claimed that nerves were sparked when Johnson was accused of revealing classified information by mistake.
A source told the paper: "The PM didn't think Boris could be trusted because he had a loose tongue. He made the agencies anxious. He wasn't told everything because of that.
"Pre-meetings would be arranged without his knowledge before he'd come over to No 10.
"They probably both share the blame for the situation and it was a clash of their worst traits - Boris is a big mouth and Theresa can be a paranoid control freak."
You may also want to watch:
A source told the BBC that Johnson was aware of the decision at the time and "very unhappy" about it.
But appearing at a Conservative leadership hustings in Darlington the Tory leadership front-runner said the reports were "not true", adding he was "extremely dubious about the provenance of this story".
Most Read
- 1 Minister terminates interview after suggesting public's age and weight to blame for UK's high death toll
- 2 European parliament agrees to add British overseas territories to post-Brexit tax haven blacklist
- 3 This picture of Boris Johnson on the phone to Joe Biden has caused a stir
- 4 Telegraph columnist blames Angela Merkel for Brexit
- 5 Nigel Farage loses nearly 50,000 followers after Twitter suspends QAnon accounts
- 6 Former Brexit Party MEP dies in diving accident in the Bahamas
- 7 Bob Geldof takes swipe at No 10 saying 'lying is second nature' to them
- 8 Brexiteer calls for UK to save Eurostar - by buying it and renaming it 'Britstar'
- 9 The greatest failure of government in our lifetime
- 10 Pro-Brexit fishing campaigner says Boris Johnson's deal has left her with 'no fish'
He said: "I am sure that the Prime Minister would not comment on intelligence matters either so I am extremely dubious about the provenance of this story.
"It's not true and I don't comment on intelligence matters."
Downing Street said it did not comment on intelligence matters, but asked if May trusted Johnson, a Number 10 spokeswoman said: "Yes. It's a matter of fact that it was the PM's own decision to appoint Boris Johnson as foreign secretary in full knowledge of all responsibilities that that job involves."
Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt refused to be drawn on the reports, telling the hustings: "We do have a rule that we never comment on intelligence matters and that would include comments about my predecessor and comments about myself.
"We have the finest intelligence services in the world in this country - that does depend on some discretion by the Foreign Secretary so I'm not going to breach that now."
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.