Boris Johnson exclaimed ‘FUCK’ upon first learning of Donald Trump’s drone strike on the top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, reports say.
The Prime Minister is on holiday in Mustique with girlfriend Carrie Symonds and was informed of the killing over the phone on Friday. Britain, unlike Israel, was not given prior warning of the attack which has already threatened to destabilise the Middle East and provoke a retaliation to the West. Mr Johnson had the four-letter outburst after British troops first learned of the airstrike from their US counterparts stationed together in Baghdad, The Mirror reported. He has been criticised for not cutting short his Caribbean break or speaking out about the seismic event but he is now due to fly home on Sunday. Furious British security officials have now accused No 10 of allowing a ‘political vacuum’ to open up while Mr Johnson was on holiday, during which he failed to make any comment on the incident. Downing Street insisted that Mr Johnson would be briefed in full on the situation once he returns to work, including on the possibility of retaliatory actions Iran might take against the UK. He will likely be greeted by Sir Mark Sedwill, the National Security Adviser, who has been locked in meetings today with the heads of the UK intelligence agencies on potential risks to ships and citizens in the Middle East.