Boris Johnson warned Donald Trump that conversations about privatising the NHS should be kept between the two of them, according to extracts leaked in a new book on the former prime minister’s premiership.
Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell’s new publication, ‘Johnson at 10: The Inside Story’, documents how one of the most colourful politicians this country has known navigated a number of crises that will define its place in the world for decades to come.
Kicking off with the controversial prorogation of Parliament and his historic landslide election victory, the book charts Johnson’s short time as PM through the eyes of those who were around him at the time.
Extracts released ahead of the release date show how the former PM fell out with his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings after growing tired of being treated like a “young and inexperienced king” who needed to be kept in order.
They also reveal how conversations about privatising the NHS were kept secret.
In one passage, the book notes:
“Johnson’s election managers had been spooked by the fear that the president would extol the virtues of privatising the NHS.
“The situation called for peak Johnson diplomacy: “Some people in my party and in other parties might make mischief if you talk about doing that”, Johnson said to him on a call before their meeting in December 2019.
“Let’s talk about it all you like in private when you’re here, but we can keep it to ourselves”.
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