Boris Johnson appears to have finally accepted that Leave means Leave as removal vehicles were spotted outside the grace and favour home he lived in as foreign secretary.
Three weeks after quitting the Cabinet in a row over Theresa May’s Brexit plans, his belongings were being removed from One Carlton Gardens in central London.
Last week, a handful of protesters parked a van featuring the slogan Leave Means Leave Removals Ltd outside the residence.
Campaigners from For our Future’s Sake and Our Future Our Choice dressed up in overalls and brought cardboard boxes to the gates of the property.
Mr Johnson plunged the government deeper into crisis after he announced he was quitting on July 9, with a scathing denunciation of the prime minister’s Chequers Brexit blueprint.
But despite quitting, Mr Johnson remained in the official home situated not far from Buckingham Palace and The Ritz hotel.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Former ministers are expected to leave official residences as quickly as practicable at the end of their tenure, taking into account their personal circumstances and family requirements; we can confirm there is no additional cost to taxpayers involved.”
Removal lorry turned up outside Foreign Secretary’s residence in Carlton Gardens, started moving furniture out… after an interim period, leave now means leave pic.twitter.com/0vw2fxYJaQ
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) July 30, 2018
He was not the first foreign secretary to stay in the residence for a period after his tenure.
When Robin Cook was ousted from the Foreign Office and demoted to Commons leader in 2001, he was allowed to hang on to a “granny flat” above the new occupant in Carlton Gardens for two years.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran MP, a champion of the campaign group Best for Britain, which is campaigning for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, said: “Leave means leave and Boris has finally got the memo. He resigned, so why should the taxpayer pay his lavish rent? “Of course, he won’t be too disappointed: his meagre £1.5m house in Oxfordshire will be waiting for the return of its chaotic king. There he can plot to his heart’s content with his poisonous pal Steve Bannon.”
Impersonator Drew Galdron, who calls himself the Faux BoJo, arrived at the scene to celebrate.
“It’s about time he left, said the 35-year-old, of Tooting, south-west London.
The MP was not seen during the move, but his wife, Marina Wheeler, was.
The removal lorry was packed up and moved on with the minivan by 2.15pm.
Most popular
Alastair Campbell’s Diary: Disappointing Greta Thunberg and a night out with the Kinnocks
Mandrake: Facing the fury of Nadine Dorries
