In the latest developments around the leaked recording of Johnson's comments on Brexit and other matters, a spokeswoman for the UK PM said Mrs. May "of course" has confidence in her minister.
"The PM believes that her cabinet and her government are working hard to deliver on the will of the people and working hard to take back control of our money, laws and our borders," she said, adding that she did not comment on leaked material," the spokeswoman said in a statement on Friday, June 8.
May's statement comes after a recording has been released, featuring Boris Johnson's comments during a private dinner, in which he suggested the Treasury may hurt Britain's long-term economy, by staying afraid of the short-term problems around the customs union and the country's membership of the EU single market.
READ MORE: UK Foreign Minister Cautions About Brexit 'Meltdown' — Reports
"They don't want any disruption of the economy. So they're sacrificing all the medium and long-term gains out of fear of short-term disruption," said Johnson, taking a swipe at Chancellor Philip Hammond, calling the Treasury "the heart of Remain."
The top diplomat also said that Theresa May plans to use this weekend's G7 meeting in Canada to suggest a "rapid response unit to identify Russian malfeasance… whether it's cyber warfare, assassinations, calling it out and identifying it."
He also added that there may be a Brexit meltdown but it will eventually be fine in the end.
"I think Theresa is going to go into a phase where we are much more combative with Brussels," Johnson said. "You've got to face the fact there may now be a meltdown. OK? I don't want anybody to panic during the meltdown. No panic…. It's going to be all right in the end."
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, said on Friday in a televised interview, she finding it "difficult to think of a diplomatic term to use" about the Foreign Secretary.
"Any prime minister that had any semblance of authority would have got rid of Boris Johnson a long time ago, not just because of comments like this… I just don't think Boris Johnson is somebody who should be in one of the high offices of state. I don't think the way he conducts himself, I don't think the opportunistic way he puts his own interests constantly ahead of what is obviously in the best interests of the country, is behavior befitting of somebody holding that office," the Scottish Minister said.
Sturgeon is not the only UK official who considers Johnson unfit for the high-profile position in the Cabinet he is occupying.
As I was saying to Boris Johnson in November… pic.twitter.com/qFL1KWe6ru
— Emily Thornberry (@EmilyThornberry) June 8, 2018
Boris Johnson, David Davis and Chris Grayling are still in their jobs. Remarkable.
— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) June 7, 2018
So we start the day expecting David Davis to resign and end it expecting Boris Johnson to be sacked. That neither will happen says a lot about how weak the PM is but also how none of the Cabinet are strong enough to lead either
— Justin Madders MP (@justinmadders) June 7, 2018
The Tories are happy to foster a damaging Brexit and let workers pay the price. Boris Johnson knows we are going to get a bad deal and yet he plods on regardless with his nonchalant attitude. The Foreign Secretary is turning into a Trump tribute act #Brexit #BrexitMeltdown pic.twitter.com/JuzeUJltGb
— Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) June 8, 2018
Boris ‘leak’ a bit like him using the Tory WhatsApp group as a kind of deniable press briefing. Dressing up publicly broadcast insults under the cover of a ‘private’ discussions won’t wash.
— Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) June 8, 2018
