Boris Johnson faced an angry backlash last night over a four-letter outburst at Brexit critics at a reception in honour of the Queen.
The Foreign Secretary is said to have replied ‘f*** business’ when asked about employers’ fears that leaving the European Union could damage British jobs and industry.
His comments at a Foreign Office reception at Lancaster House to celebrate the Queen’s birthday shocked fellow guests.
News of his comment comes after the UK boss of German-owned high-tech giant Siemens echoed warnings by Airbus and BMW about the effect of Brexit chaos on British business and jobs.
Boris Johnson’s comments at a Foreign Office reception at Lancaster House to celebrate the Queen’s birthday shocked fellow guests
Mr Johnson’s four-letter outburst was reportedly overheard by two diplomats when he was talking to Belgium’s EU envoy Rudolf Huygelen.
He also said he did not want a ‘bog-roll Brexit’ that was ‘soft, yielding and indefinitely long’.
His coarse comments were criticised by business leaders and MPs as ‘insulting’ and ‘demeaning’.
But his supporters shrugged off the attacks as ‘typical Boris political knock-about’.
Mr Johnson’s ‘f*** business’ comment was not his only indiscretion at Whitehall’s Lancaster House earlier this month, where, coincidentally, Theresa May set out her EU policy last year.
Mr Johnson’s four-letter outburst was reportedly overheard by two diplomats when he was talking to Belgium’s EU envoy Rudolf Huygelen (centre)
Quizzed over the Prime Minister’s support for a so-called ‘soft Brexit’ deal, rather than the ‘hard Brexit’ he favours, Mr Johnson said he would force her to back down, vowing: ‘We will fight it [soft Brexit] and we will win.’
Sowing further confusion, moments after telling guests in his formal speech that Brexit was ‘wonderful’, he confided privately that the UK was more divided now than since the English Civil War.
A source close to Mr Johnson said the Foreign Secretary had ‘no recollection’ of saying ‘f*** business’ – Westminster code for a non-denial.
He had been attacking pro-EU business lobbyists such as the Confederation of British Industry, which opposed Brexit to suit its own ‘vested interests’, the source added.
‘No one has done more to back hard-working British businesses than Boris. He was attacking lobbyists like the EU-funded CBI, who are more interested in doing what’s right for big multinational corporations instead of helping ordinary working Brits.’
John Neill, chairman of car parts group Unipart, said: ‘I find it hard to believe Boris said this but if he did, he has just insulted millions of people who work in business, from CEOs to the shop floor – and they are the people who pay for our health care and our education services.
‘I find it astonishing, almost unbelievable. I am virtually speechless that a Cabinet Minister could gratuitiously say such a thing.’
Lord Rose, Tory peer and former chairman of Marks & Spencer, said Mr Johnson’s comment was ‘shocking and sad’.
A source close to Mr Johnson said the Foreign Secretary had ‘no recollection’ of saying ‘f*** business’ – Westminster code for a non-denial
Lord Rose, who campaigned against Brexit, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘You can’t dismiss the whole of industry by saying “business should shut up”.
‘What business has Boris Johnson ever run?
‘There is a delayed realisation that we face a very serious situation and a refusal to understand that business must have a say.
‘We have to come to an agreement with the EU by spring next year and we haven’t got a position.’
Responding to Mr Johnson’s ‘bog-roll Brexit’ jibe, Lord Rose said a poor Brexit deal or no deal would ‘be like being in the bog without a bog-roll – that’s a lot more unpleasant to contemplate’.
His comments were mirrored by Juergen Maier, the Anglo-Austrian chief executive of Siemens UK, who challenged ‘sloganising’ Mr Johnson.
‘How about less slogans and a pragmatic #SmartBrexit that works for all sides?’ asked Mr Maier in a tweet.
Responding to Mr Johnson’s ‘bog-roll Brexit’ jibe, Lord Rose said a poor Brexit deal or no deal would ‘be like being in the bog without a bog-roll – that’s a lot more unpleasant to contemplate
‘Two years on and yet more slogans of a “full British Brexit”, yet the two years have proven there is no such thing, because we can’t solve this alone.’
In his blog before Mr Johnson is said to have made his controversial remarks, Mr Maier said: ‘We know now that we have been sold a crock.
‘The practicalities of this are enormous. If every truck passing Dover takes two minutes more to process, it would lead to a 17-mile tailback. The time has come for more realism and honesty about the choices involved.’
Josh Hardie, CBI deputy director-general, said more companies would speak out like Airbus, BMW and Siemens as the risk of no deal grew.
‘March 2019 is not far away,’ he said. ‘Companies are being forced to prepare for the reality of a cliff edge and we could see more statements like this if negotiations continue as they are.’
Paul Everitt, chief executive of aerospace and defence industry group ADS, said: ‘Businesses across the UK need a Brexit that sustains jobs and protects our competitiveness.
Mr Johnson’s ‘f*** business’ comment was not his only indiscretion at Whitehall’s Lancaster House earlier this month, where, coincidentally, Theresa May set out her EU policy last year
‘Ongoing uncertainty over our future relationship with the EU on important areas like customs, aviation safety arrangements and the transition period mean that companies are forced to develop contingency plans based on the worst-case scenario.’
City grandee Sir Mike Rake, chairman of payments giant WorldPay and former chairman of BT and EasyJet, said Mr Johnson’s comment ‘shows a lack of respect for the business community on whom the politicians must rely to create wealth for the population’.
Former Downing Street communications director Craig Oliver said: ‘It is sad to see David Cameron’s prediction that the EU referendum would “unleash demons” is truer than ever.
‘The debate remains poisonous, with too many people determined to launch personal attacks on others. Brexiteers and Remainers are both sincere in their beliefs.
‘Respect is due on both sides of the divide.’
‘I sometimes wonder if Boris has a brain’
Millionaire businessman Charlie Mullinssaid: ‘Bog-roll is a good metaphor for Boris to use because he is talking s***. The man is full of it’
Millionaire businessman Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers, poured scorn on ‘brainless Boris’.
Mr Mullins said: ‘Bog-roll is a good metaphor for Boris to use because he is talking s***. The man is full of it.’
He added: ‘With his attitude, everything will go down the pan and be flushed away.
‘Boris says we don’t want a bog-roll Brexit. But an Andrexit is exactly what we need: one that is smooth, strong, frictionless and doesn’t cause any blockages.’
Mr Mullins, a Tory donor, added: ‘My business is already counting the cost of Brexit.
‘We are seeing the cost of boilers and spares go up by seven per cent. Boris hasn’t got a business brain and I sometimes wonder whether he has a brain at all.’
The only senior Conservative who understood business was Chancellor Philip Hammond, Mr Mullins added. ‘The rest treat us like we don’t matter, but businesses need to be listened to.’