Back in May, Boris Johnson was awarded first prize in the Spectator’s ‘President Erdogan Offensive Poetry competition’, for the following poem:
There was a young fellow from Ankara
Who was a terrific wankerer
Till he sowed his wild oats
With the help of a goat
But he didn’t even stop to thankera.
Fast forward a few months, and Boris – as Foreign Secretary – now finds himself in Turkey, on a diplomatic mission. And given that President Erdogan isn’t exactly renowned for his sense of humour – or his love of a free press – Mr S did wonder whether the Foreign Secretary might be coming under diplomatic pressure to renounce his poem.
Thankfully, though, it seems that Boris is made of sterner stuff. During a press conference held with Turkey’s foreign minister this morning, he was asked by one journalist whether he would like to accept an invitation to apologise for calling President Erdogan a ‘wankerer’. Boris replied that such ‘trivia’ had not been raised during his visit. Which,
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