Close ally of Boris Johnson pleads with senior Tories to stop undermining the Foreign Secretary with public jibes
Jake Berry told critics to stop 'sniping from the comfort of Whitehall' after jokes by Theresa May and Philip Hammond
A CLOSE ally of Boris Johnson has pleaded with senior Tories to stop undermining the Foreign Secretary with public jibes.
Tory MP Jake Berry told critics of the former London mayor to stop "sniping from the comfort of Whitehall" and back the Cabinet minister.
He spoke out about the attacks on Mr Johnson, amid concerns among they are damaging the reputation of the Foreign Secretary around the world.
In recent weeks both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have publicly poked fun at the man affectionately known as ‘BoJo’.
Mr Berry's defence of the Foreign Secretary came after he visited Afghanistan for the first time, which he called “one of the most dangerous countries in the world”.
He told the : "And what are his armchair critics doing? Sniping from the comfort of Whitehall.
"They need to get behind him if Britain is going to succeed with Brexit."
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His comments echo those of Paul Goodman, the former Tory MP who is now editor of the ConservativeHome website.
He wrote in the Daily Telegraph last week: "Mr Johnson is used to being asked to knock off the jokes. But the same request should now be made of the Prime Minister, at least as far as those at his expense are concerned."
Theresa May used her Conservative Party conference speech to joke "can Boris Johnson stay on message for a full four days? Just about".
At a recent awards ceremony the PM also teased him after he had joked about Lord Heseltine "throttling" his dog.
Mrs May said: "Boris, the dog was put down ... when its master decided it wasn't needed any more."
And Philip Hammond made a barbed reference to Mr Johnson's aborted leadership campaign as he delivered his Autumn Statement in the Commons.
"I suspect that I will prove no more adept at pulling rabbits from hats than my successor as Foreign Secretary has been at retrieving balls from the back of scrums," the Chancellor said, in reference to Mr Johnson's previous comments about wanting to be Prime Minister.
On his visit to Afghanistan, the Foreign Secretary held talks with president Ashraf Ghani and chief executive Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul and praised the work of British military and civilian staff helping to rebuild and stabilise the country.
Mr Johnson also went to the British Cemetery in Kabul to pay tribute at a memorial to the 456 UK servicemen and women who lost have their lives in Afghanistan since 2001.