So. Farewell then …

So. Farewell then, Boris Johnson.

I’ve never hidden my fondness for the man, though goodness knows he was (and is) a hugely frustrating figure.

In 2012, shortly after he was re-elected as mayor of London, I wrote:

What a relief to know that London will be represented at the 2012 Olympics not by [Ken] Livingstone but by the slightly eccentric figure of Boris Johnston. With Boris at the opening ceremony I might even be persuaded to watch. Let's hope the occasion reflects the charming and slightly shambolic personality of the city's mayor – the complete opposite, in other words, of Beijing in 2008.

Sadly, it was the ‘shambolic personality’ I found endearing that arguably made him unsuitable as PM.

Anyway, following his resignation yesterday as the member of parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, it’s time to dust off an interview he gave me 23 years ago, shortly after he was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Henley-on-Thames.

Interview is perhaps too strong a word (it was a short and very fluffy piece) but, looking back, I am struck by one response in particular:

I still have a dream that I’ve been picked to play rugby for England and no-one can quite believe it. I can hear the commentary in my head. I get the ball. I’m going for the try line - and then something terrible happens and I wake up.

You can read the full piece here - Strange but true, my interview with Boris Johnson - and read into it what you like.

Thereafter our paths crossed only occasionally, and never directly.

In 2006, for example, he was the guest speaker at the annual lunch organised by the Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists (AITS) at Lords Cricket Ground.

In 2007, partly as a result of that, I invited Boris to be the main speaker at a dinner to mark the imminent introduction of the smoking ban.

Hosted by Forest at the Savoy Hotel, London, we contacted the speakers’ agency that handled him and were quoted £10,000 for a 20-minute speech.

To be fair, this was not excessive because we were also quoted £25k for Stephen Fry and £35k for Al Murray (aka The Pub Landlord) who was then at the height of his fame.

Booking Boris however came with a warning. He would arrive shortly before he was due to give his speech, and depart shortly after.

In the end it didn’t happen because the event was on a Monday night and we were told that Boris liked to keep Monday nights free for his family. (No sniggering at the back, please.)

Instead, via Boisdale MD Ranald Macdonald, we booked broadcaster and journalist Andrew Neil who gave a wonderful speech and, better still, arrived for the pre-dinner drinks reception at 7.00pm and stayed until 11.00. Now that’s what I call value for money!

Thereafter, as mayor of London, Boris opposed talk of banning smoking in public parks, calling it “bossy”, but it was also his sudden and unexpected support for a ban on smoking in cars with children (thereby siding with Labour) that increased the pressure on David Cameron to act.

(To be clear, Forest’s opposition to the ban was based on the fact that, by 2014, there was no evidence that large numbers of people were still smoking in cars carrying children so introducing a specific law to stop them seemed unnecessary and had the principal effect of stigmatising all parents who smoked.)

The rest, as they say, is history (Brexit, Foreign Secretary, etc) but I couldn’t have been happier when Boris became leader of the Conservative Party and PM and thereafter won the December 2019 general election with a mini landslide that enabled him to ‘Get Brexit done’.

Since then, of course, it’s all been a bit of a disaster.

Throughout the pandemic I remained sympathetic to a politician who, in my view, was clearly trying to stay true to his liberal instincts but was under huge pressure to impose excessive and, as it now seems (albeit in hindsight), unnecessarily rigid regulations.

In January 2022 I wrote:

Boris clearly deserves credit for the success of the vaccine roll-out. More recently his refusal to reimpose greater restrictions should also be applauded. Compare that to the policies imposed by the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the contrast is clear.

Sadly I was forced to conclude (‘Has Boris blown it?’):

The PM can only blame himself for his current predicament and it’s a tragedy not just for Boris but for the country given what could have been achieved with an 80-seat majority and an allegedly liberal, pro-Brexit, pro-free market PM in power.

Arguably it’s not too late. My fear though is that the damage is done and it’s completely self-inflicted. What a waste.

Will he make a political comeback? Who knows, but perhaps we should be saying ‘au revoir’ rather than ‘adieu’.