Boris Johnson rules out leadership bid before Brexit
2 min read
Boris Johnson has ruled out mounting a Conservative party leadership challenge before Brexit talks are complete.
The Foreign Secretary has been widely tipped to succeed Mrs May, who is reported to have faced sustained pressure from party colleagues after failing to secure a majority at the election.
However when asked whether he would rule out challenging for the leadership until Brexit talks were finished in 2019, he told Channel 4: “Certainly, I do.
“Yes, we have to get on and deliver on the priorities of the people.”
Mr Johnson has been forced to deny claims that he has been plotting for the top job in recent days, having been spotted at a pub in Kent with Michael Fallon, while his allies and those of potential rival David Davis have reportedly been trading jibes.
He had been the front-runner to take over from David Cameron a year ago, before dropping out, allowing Theresa May to eventually take the post.
Elsewhere yesterday, Mr Johnson insisted the planned state visit of Donald Trump would go ahead, despite its exclusion from the Queen’s Speech while the Spanish premier was mentioned.
“There’s a difference between the status of the Spanish state visit and the visit of President Trump,” Mr Johnson said.
“That’s because we haven’t yet agreed a date with the White House. That was pushed back as a result of the election. The formality is that you cannot put the presidential visit in [the Queen’s Speech] until the date has been agreed. But the visit will go ahead.”
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