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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Rosaleen Fenton

Boris Johnson’s miserable Jubilee - boos, urgent phone call and awkward photo

It's not been a good weekend for Boris Johnson - he was booed arriving at the Jubilee thanksgiving service and now faces a vote of no confidence.

The Prime Minister was faced with boos and jeers as he walked up steps to St Paul's Cathedral on Friday, as wife Carrie looked taken aback at the reception from flag-waving royalists.

He was then heckled at the pageant on Sunday held in Her Majesty’s honour at Buckingham Palace.

According to reports, the Prime Minister got a call informing him about the vote from Sir Graham Brady before attending the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee pageant.

A photo of him at the event showed him looking despairing as he sat through hours of light-hearted entertainment - while potentially considering his political career.

The PM was seen with his head in his hands (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

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According to the Times, a memo circulated among his backbench MPs listing the reasons to remove him from office cited the boos as proof he should go.

The one-page memo claimed the incident outside St Paul's "tells us nothing that data does not", citing polling that "no social group trusts him, with even 55 per cent of current Conservatives calling him untrustworthy".

He was also the butt of jokes from comedian Lee Mack who opened the jubilee concert on Saturday night.

Speaking with the Prime Minister in attendance, who was in the royal box, Mack said: "Finally we can say the words 'party' and 'gate' and it's a positive." The joke drew cheers and laughs from the crowd.

Lee Mack made a quick jibe at the PM (PA)

Stephen Fry also made a dig at the Prime Minister's expense too, when introducing Prince Charles.

Stephen said: "As a nation, we have been lucky, lucky, lucky above all others to have had our Queen to represent us over 70 years of Trooping the Colour, royal tours, Christmas Day at three in the afternoon.

"How many local sewage works has our Majesty opened with a bright smile? How many plaques unveiled? How many trees planted, ribbons cut, ships launched?" he added as he noted all the great work Her Majesty had done.

Stephen Fry had a dig at Boris Johnson (PA)

He then added: "How many prime ministers tolerated – for that alone, no admiration is high enough."

He was also booed while dining at Morito, a restaurant in east London where his son Theo worked.

The Mail on Sunday said the prime minister responded with a "dismissive hand gesture and left".

Now the vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson will be held by Conservative MPs this evening and if he loses, he will be forced to stand down as PM.

It comes as a new poll reported that a majority of Brits think Tory MPs should remove Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Data from pollster Opinium, which has published the first snap poll of the public’s view on today’s confidence vote, shows 59 per cent think Conservative MPs should vote to oust the Prime Minister tonight.

Just 28 per cent think Conservative MPs should vote to keep Mr Johnson in power and 13 per cent said they do not know what the Tories should do.

The vote was triggered after at least 54 Conservative MPs wrote a letter asking for it - and a few high-profile names have come out saying they will vote for Boris Johnson to leave.

Downing Street has said Boris Johnson will not be distracted from the business of government by the confidence vote by Tory MPs.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is firmly of the view that he will not be distracted from the key issues facing the UK and the world. That is illustrated by the call he had with (Ukrainian President) Zelensky this morning.

"Equally there are key domestic challenges - not least the Covid backlog, the cost-of-living pressures - I think he will be taking more action on in due course."

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