Boris Johnson had been hoping to jet away from his Partygate woes on a long-delayed trip to India.
But despite flying more than 4,000 miles, the Prime Minister couldn’t escape the scandal engulfing him at home.
The PM touched down in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Thursday where he was given a red carpet welcome.
His motorcade was greeted by organised groups of well wishers brandishing British and Indian flags lining the route.
The PM was also welcomed by dozens of massive posters emblazoned with his face with the message “Welcome to Gujarat”. Mr Johnson later told India’s PM Narendra Modi that he felt like legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulker.
He joked to Indian media: “I wouldn’t get that necessarily everywhere in the world.”
Mr Johnson could easily have been talking about Westminster, where he’s facing growing anger from his own MPs over his botched handling of the Partygate saga.
The scandal loomed large over the two-day trip, where the increasingly tetchy PM tried in vain to shift focus onto trade deals, energy and security partnerships with India.
Mr Johnson’s aims for the trip were unclear - bar generating positive headlines about a post-Brexit trade deal and being seen to press Modi to take a tougher stance on Russia. But he also ended up also facing questions about why he hadn’t been tougher on Ukraine - and his decision to visit a JCB factory near Gujarat owned by Tory donor Lord Bamford.
The PM flew out on his taxpayer-funded plane on Wednesday night, accompanied by journalists, where he vowed he would stay on to fight the next election - and said Partygate didn’t matter to voters.
Arriving in Gujarat on Thursday, the PM was spotted taking his mind off things by going for a quick swim in the hotel pool. But as temperatures hit 42C on Thursday - and Partygate dominated the headlines at home - it was clear Mr Johnson was feeling a different kind of heat.
Standing in the boiling sun at Akshardham Temple in Ahmedabad, he became increasingly tetchy at being asked about Partygate, looking at his watch and telling Sky News: “Get onto the subject of the trip”.
The questions continued at a press conference on Friday where he looked exasperated at being asked repeatedly about his political future.
But an Indian journalist was heard discussing Partygate while delivering a news report on a press statement by the PM and Modi at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, in an extraordinary sign of the global reach of the saga.
