Oh dear. Although Lord Ashcroft said he would be pleasantly surprised if Anthony Seldon’s biography of David Cameron offered anything more than ‘a sanitised account’ of his time in Number 10, an excerpt in today’s Mail on Sunday should make interesting reading for Boris Johnson.
In Cameron at 10, Seldon writes of tensions between the leadership hopeful and the Cameron camp, which culminated in the Prime Minister telling Johnson to ‘f—ing shut up’ ahead of the election after he listed all the Old Etonians who had gone on to make it into Number 10:
‘One Number 10 insider says: ‘There was a sense in this building that the PM and Chancellor were getting on taking the difficult decisions while Boris, with his crass bumbling, was lapping it all up and loving twisting the knife.’
After Johnson lists in print all the Old Etonians who have gone on to become prime minister, Cameron sends him a text: ‘The next PM will be Miliband if you don’t f—ing shut up.’
The acclaimed biographer goes on to quote one former Cameron aide as saying ‘there is a big feeling that Boris is a fair-weather friend who strikes poses and can’t be trusted’. While
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in