Downing Street has admitted that Boris Johnson will not work on his holiday unless urgently needed, after he faced criticism for taking a second overseas break in three weeks amid the energy crisis.
Johnson is believed to be in Greece with his family, despite having just three weeks left in the job amid accusations he leads a “zombie” government.
In his absence, two large removals trucks turned up at Downing Street on Monday, fueling expectations that he is likely to spend little more time in Number 10. The Prime Minister is entitled to take the furniture and fixtures he paid for in his renovation of his 11th Floor, theoretically including Lulu Lytle’s gold wallpaper that was initially funded by a Conservative donor.
Brandon Lewis, a senior Tory MP, defended the Prime Minister’s decision to take a second holiday, following his first break in Slovenia.
“Even when you’re not in the Downing Street office you’re working,” Brandon Lewis, who was Northern Ireland secretary before resigning last month, told LBC.
However, Johnson’s official spokesman clarified that he would not be doing regular work as he was “on leave” and would only be in touch if there were “urgent decisions” to be made.
“As you know, as with prime ministers, because of their role, they will obviously be kept informed on any pressing matters and they will make decisions, particularly those [related to] national security, for example,” he said. “If there were urgent decisions that required the prime minister’s input, of course he would be involved in that.”
He said there were no major meetings scheduled for this week that would require Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, to replace him.
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Number 10 would not comment on the prime minister’s exact whereabouts, but he was seen with his wife, Carrie, at a supermarket in Nea Makri, a town east of Athens. A week ago, Johnson returned from another vacation, in Slovenia.
Although Johnson’s caretaker role during the period in which his successor is chosen limits his scope for new policy, he has been accused of running a zombie government and spending his final weeks in office relaxing.
When not abroad, Johnson has been spending time at Checkers, the retreat of the country’s prime minister, and he and Carrie hosted a late-night party for their wedding at the Cotswolds home of JCB owner Anthony Bamford, a major conservative donor
Asked on LBC if the Prime Minister had “thrown in the towel”, Lewis rejected the characterization.
“It’s probably in its second week [of] vacation for the last year or so, certainly this year,” Lewis said. “So as long as someone is out, whether it’s the secretary of state or much less the prime minister, he’s going to keep working.
“I can assure you that it will continue to go through inboxes, it will still deal with national security issues when relevant. Being out of the country does not mean that the prime minister stops working.”
Outlining Labour’s plan to help households this winter by stopping any rise in the energy price cap, which will be partly funded by a wider tax, on Monday Keir Starmer branded Johnson a “lame duck”, saying than the aspirants to succeed him, Liz. Truss and Rishi Sunak, were just “shuffled” rather than coming up with a plan of action.
A Labor spokesman said: “On the evidence of recent months, it seems to make no difference whether the Prime Minister is in the office or on holiday as he has consistently failed to rise to the challenge of the cost of living crisis. Tory life. It’s all just one big party for Boris Johnson as the country struggles to pay its bills.”