Boris Johnson paced around a room looking “distraught” after the Brexit result was announced in 2016, according to a new book.
Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell’s 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 describe how Johnson, who is widely credited with delivering the slim majority for Brexit, declared “we’ve got no plan” when he realised Vote Leave had won the referendum.
He is said to have walked around his living room “looking ashen-faced and distraught”, muttering: “What the hell is happening? … Oh s***, we’ve got no plan.
“We haven’t thought about it. I didn’t think it would happen. Holy c***, what will we do?”.
One insider told the authors that the usually ebullient face of Johnson was struck with guilt when he saw Samantha Cameron, wife of his old school friend and the then-prime minister, on television looking upset in the knowledge that her husband had been defeated.
“Oh my God. Look at Sam. God. Poor Sam,” he is quoted as having said.
The authors added: “Those who knew Johnson intimately say they had never seen him more frightened and dismayed than at this moment of triumph.”
Not long after dawn, Mr Johnson left his Islington home to travel to a Vote Leave victory event. The street outside was swarmed with protesters as he was driven towards Westminster.
“The crowds began banging angrily on the windows and roof. Boris looked terrified. He stared dead ahead, sensing that from this moment on, everything had changed,” an insider said.
Related: Extracts from new book shed light on chaos of Johnson administration