LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s father defended his decision to fly to Greece on Saturday, although at the time the government’s advice was for UK citizens to avoid all essential international travel.
FILE PHOTO: Stanley Johnson, father of Boris Johnson, arrives at a marriage event with Conservative Party of Great Britain leadership candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, in Exeter, Great Britain, June 28, 2019. REUTERS / Dylan Martinez / File Photo
Greek government officials confirmed Thursday that Stanley Johnson had arrived, probably via Bulgaria, in the northern region of Pelion, where he has a vacation home.
Johnson told reporters he was on a business trip.
“I do not know what the reaction of the British public was (I have been), I came here to have a quiet time to organize the house,” he said in comments to local reporters published by Sky News, referring to measures to make the COVID property- 19 secure for rentals.
“I only have one week to organize everything. I have lots of instructions on how to make the place COVID-proof, ”he said, noting that he planned to return to the UK on July 10.
On Friday, Britain’s Foreign Ministry established exemptions from a global notice against “near essential” international travel, which will take effect from Saturday. That list includes Greece.
Johnson said the photos he posted to his Instagram account on the outside leg of his trip were not put “in a spirit of defiance or anything like that.”
Boris Johnson was asked about his father’s trip on Friday.
“I think you should really bring that up with him,” he told LBC radio.
The details that emerged in May from a long road trip at the height of the UK coronavirus blockade by Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief adviser, sparked outrage across the country.
Report by James Davey; Edited by Frances Kerry
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