“If you want proof of the government’s madness, it appears that Foreign Office lawyers are actively studying the idea – which has not yet, as far as I know, been rejected by the Foreign Secretary himself – even,” Johnson added.
Johnson’s move against Cameron comes amid a heated debate in the UK over whether to continue allowing arms exports to Israel following the deaths of World Central Kitchen aid workers during an Israeli strike.
Cabinet is reportedly divided on the issue as government lawyers question whether Israel is violating international law in its Gaza campaign.
“He seems to have gone into a sort of purdah on the subject,” Johnson said of Cameron on arms exports. Ending this aid to Israel would amount, he said, to “desiring the military defeat of Israel and the victory of Hamas”.
A long-standing feud
Johnson’s remarks also echo a long-standing rivalry between the two former prime ministers, dating back to when both men attended the elite British private school Eton.
The duo’s best-known rivalry is taking sides on Brexit, with the United Kingdom’s vote in favor ending Remain-friendly Cameron’s premiership and accelerating Johnson’s rise to the top of the British politics.
Cameron lashed out at Johnson when he returned to the front line of British politics and rejoined the Foreign Office last November, joking that he had not been a “soaring Cincinnatus in the above my plough” while not in government – a mysterious reference to Johnson’s resignation speech as Prime Minister.
Johnson once called Cameron a “girly swot” for gaining a first-class degree at Oxford, while Johnson achieved second-class honors.
Politices
