Theresa May and her ‘uppity’ staff need to stop slapping down Boris Johnson, says Sir Bernard Ingham
Mrs Thatcher's press secretary said they need to learn gentler ways of dealing with wayward ministers like him
THERESA May and her "uppity" staff need to stop slapping down Boris Johnson and learn gentler ways of dealing with wayward ministers like him, said Sir Bernard Ingham.
The Foreign Secretary was recently rebuked publicly by Number 10 for taking Iran and Saudi Arabia to task over the Yemeni civil war.
Sir Bernard, who was Margaret Thatcher's press secretary, said: "That has needed saying for too long. It is about time more senior statesman began to try to get Iran and Saudi Arabia to face up to their responsibilities.
"Just because they are rolling in oil does not mean we should not tell them where to get off."
Mr Johnson has also found himself the butt of several jokes by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor in recent weeks, leading to his allies calling for Downing Street to treat him with more respect.
Mr Ingham added: "No 10 needs to learn how better to handle the blond bombshell.
“Mrs May - and certainly her apparatchiks - are acquiring an early reputation for slapping down wayward ministers when there are gentler ways of coping with their deviation from the straight and narrow.
"Perhaps Johnson has for too long led a relatively carefree existence as a journalist, backbencher and Mayor of London - not to mention campaigning for the Tory leadership - to hold himself in check in central government.
"If so, he had better soon accept he is now only a cog - though a big one - in a wider machine. Otherwise, things could get awkward."
“His - and Theresa May's - problem is his DNA.
"He is over-endowed with the flamboyant thespian gene and under-supplied with that which promotes restraint. He cannot help making waves."
Sir Bernard added: "Mrs May takes life seriously but she and her uppity staff need not always show it. The public does not like to see a government in an edgy state within itself."
He said the Prime Minister should calm down "and Boris should remember that timing and tact are all - both at home and abroad”, before adding: “It is called diplomacy."