Boris Johnson insists he has good relationships with world leaders – despite gaffes including calling Turkey’s President Erdogan ‘a wankerer from Ankara’
The new Foreign Secretary insists none of his 20 trips abroad in the role have been affected by his previous attacks of world leaders
BORIS Johnson has insisted he's escaped any ticking off from world leaders for abusing them in the past on his travels so far.
The new Foreign Secretary has made more than 20 trips abroad since he was surprisingly offered one of the Cabinet’s most senior roles in July.
One of his most potentially embarrassing was a visit to Turkey this week, after calling its President Erdogan “the wankerer from Ankara” in a limerick that he won a prize for.
But Mr Johnson – whose great grandfather was Turkish - insisted: “Nobody mentioned the ditty to which you allude at all.
“I had very good relations with my friends in Istanbul, in Ankara, partly because of my family history.”
The former newspaper columnist insisted: “I think what a lot of them have done is gone back to the early articles in question and discovered that there is nothing in it.
“And genuinely none of this stuff has actually come up.”
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He also denied accusations this week that he has pulled a spectacular U-turn by giving his full backing to Turkey’s bid to join the EU despite whipping up a storm of protest about it during the EU referendum campaign.
Boris protested: “I said it would be a good thing for the EU once Britain had left.”
Mr Johnson also said he still feels no need to give Barack Obama an apology for calling him “half-Kenyan” during the referendum campaign, which sparked a storm.
He added: “The substantive point is I’ve had very good relations with John Kerry’s American administration from Day One, and we are working hand in glove.
