Throughout his time in City Hall, Mr Johnson was viewed as a "king over the water" and was a constant source of media fascination. Anything suggesting that the people who had been making those rules had not gone through that same experience hit public opinion like salt on an open wound. It was a political saviour for Mr Johnson, coming on top of a last-minute trade deal with the EU agreed days before the Christmas 2020 deadline - his party's poll rating began to surge above the Labour Party.

But just over a week after the publication of the Gray report, it appeared things may have been coming to a head.But not long afterwards, Mr Johnson was forced to go to Liverpool and apologise for an editorial in The Spectator that claimed the people of the city "wallow" in their "victim status" and incorrectly blamed "drunken fans" for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. He was made shadow arts minister in 2004 by Michael Howard, the leader at the time - his first frontbench role. His former press secretary Allegra Stratton was the only staff member to resign, after a video was obtained by ITV News showing her joking about a party in Downing Street that was held in December 2020.

The rebellion he faced was larger than that suffered by Theresa May in December 2018, but he survived. His cabinet stood by him and Mr Johnson made clear he was not inclined to want to bow to pressure.Her family have had bad experiences at Hillingdon hospital – one of the few local issues Johnson did mention in his resignation letter, saying he is proud that it is being rebuilt. Johnson said that US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a "moment of opportunity" for peace. [391] In June 2018, Johnson accused the UNHRC of focusing disproportionately on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. [392] Johnson with former prime minister Gordon Brown in May 2018

Promising his "most fervent support" to his successor Liz Truss, Mr Johnson compared himself to Cincinnatus, who was made dictator in 458 BC to lead the battle against an invasion before returning to his farm. Either that, or the year was set to be defined by a new bullish approach from the all-powerful Mr Johnson. Image: Mr Johnson delivers a speech the 2021 Conservative Party conference. Pic: Reuters/Phil Noble It was swiftly reported that Mr Pincher was accused of groping two men at the Carlton Club, in full view of numerous Tory MPs. But when reports began to emerge of pandemic parties taking place in Downing Street and in Whitehall, all at times when the rest of the country was unable to do anything of the sort, he and his team repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The result showcased Mr Johnson's broad electoral appeal and caused many Conservatives to wonder: If he could beat Labour in London, what could he do across the rest of the country? It is not an offence if they “had no reason to believe that there was any person within hearing or sight who was likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress”. Mr Cameron won the first outright Tory majority since 1992 in that year's election, but he was about to embark on a gamble that saw him out of office little more than a year later. Even among Johnson fans, the Conservatives may have their work cut out. Harvinder Singh, 44, a business analyst from Uxbridge, “quite liked Boris. I’m quite surprised. I wasn’t expecting that. I thought he was going to get through it.” It was a decision his allies have since argued was unavoidable, given the growing strength of UKIP under Nigel Farage, who had eurosceptics in the Conservative Party terrified.