Stanley Johnson laughed off claims he broke lockdown rules by offering to wear his swimming shorts on his head as he emerged from his holiday retreat.
The Prime Minister’s father has faced fierce criticism this week for flying to Greece but protested his innocence when spotted by reporters yesterday on return from an afternoon swim in Pilion.
The retired Tory MEP, 79, told local and international press: ‘There is no question of my breaking the law. The minister of tourism here has my papers.’
Stanley Johnson laughed off claims he broke lockdown rules by offering to wear his swimming shorts on his head as he emerged from his holiday retreat
The Prime Minister’s father (pictured) has faced fierce criticism this week for flying to Greece but protested his innocence when spotted by reporters yesterday on return from an afternoon swim in Pilion
The Prime Minister’s father was seen checking his phone at a tavern in Horto village on Thursday
Mr Johnson refused to divulge details of conversations he had about his trip with his son, the Prime Minister, pictured yesterday
‘It was always absolutely clear from the Greek government that the only thing they were banning were people coming in from direct flights from Britain.’
Mr Johnson landed at Athens International Airport late Wednesday after flying via Bulgaria due to a current ban on direct flights from the UK, before visiting his Villa Irene, on Mount Pelion, in central Greece.
By some local accounts, he arrived to the region, by private car after documenting his controversial journey from the UK on social media, sharing a video taken from a plane and a selfie where his face was covered with a white mask.
Hounded by local and international media in Pelion, a visibly unnerved Mr Johnson said he was unaware of the outcry in Britain about his flight.
Still, he conceded scrapping pictures that he posted on social media accounts, tracking his journey.
‘It is true I took the pictures down,’ he said. ‘But I didn’t put them up in spirit of defiance…. I certainly had no intention of provoking anyone.’
He said he was visiting on ‘essential business’ because he needed to ‘Covid-proof my property’ ahead of the letting season.
Referring to his residence in Greece, Mr Johnson told reporters: ‘I came here to have a quiet time, to organise the house.
‘I think I’m going to go back on July 10. So, I have just got one week to get everything organised. Got a whole lot of instructions about how to make the place Covid proof.’
He refused to divulge details of conversations he had about his trip with his son, Boris Johnson.
‘He’s absolutely right…’ Mr Johnson said, taking a long and awkward pause.
A view of Villa Irene which belongs to Stanley Johnson in Horto village, Mount Pelion, central Greece
Mr Johnson landed at Athens International Airport late Wednesday after flying via Bulgaria due to a current ban on direct flights from the UK
Hounded by local and international media in Pelion, a visibly unnerved Mr Johnson said he was unaware of the outcry in Britain about his flight
By some local accounts, he arrived to the region, by private car after documenting his controversial journey from the UK on social media, sharing a video taken from a plane and a selfie where his face was covered with a white mask
Mr Johnson told reporters: ‘I’m not going to talk about private conversations between family members’
‘I’m not going to talk about private conversations between family members.
‘I’m not going to talk about that…. Not going to say if my actions are correct or not.’
Greek authorities say his surprise visit was being handled by ‘the top echelons of the government in Athens.’
‘As far as we are concerned,’ said Michalis Mitzikos, the mayor of southern Pilio, ‘there is no violation to report and there is no way that the particular individual would have set foot here without having received clearance from the related health authorities and the top ranks of government.’
Leading government officials contacted by The Daily Mail suggested said standard procedures for incoming travellers from the UK and Bulgaria were followed, including mandatory testings for the novel coronavirus.
A senior government official said: ‘If something suspicious had come up, he (Johnson) would have been taken out of line and put in isolation for at least seven days.
‘No contact between Downing Street and Athens was required.’
In his encounter with the press late Friday, Mr Johnson strongly urged for a travel agreement between Greece and the UK.
‘If anything I would say let’s open this air bidge as quick as we can.
‘I’ll go back on the 10th but people are lining to get here. This country has everything.
‘How wonderful it would be if the governments on both side came to some arrangement.’