Yahoo News Boris Johnson denies Cabinet is split over Brexit: We are a nest of singing birds
Theresa May has said she expects Boris Johnson to remain as Foreign Secretary after he insisted the Cabinet was “a nest of singing birds”.
The Prime Minister said Mr Johnson was doing “good work” heading up the Foreign Office as she arrived at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
It comes after the former London mayor issued an open challenge to the Prime Minister’s Brexit policy at the weekend by releasing a 4,000-word essay setting out his personal demands for Brexit.
The Foreign Secretary, who is also in New York for the UN summit, publicly dismissed reports that he might be on the verge of quitting and denied the Cabinet was split over Brexit insisting: “We are a nest of singing birds.”
No 10 sources have said a Cabinet session will be held on Thursday to attempt to reach a Brexit policy that Mrs May can announce in her crucial speech in Florence, Italy, on Friday.
Mrs May and Mr Johnson have not seen each other since his Brexit demands were published in the Daily Telegraph at the weekend.
Their schedules at the UN assembly do not coincide until Wednesday when Mr Johnson is due to be in the audience for Mrs May's formal address to the UN.
He was not due to join the PM at a reception for Commonwealth leaders on Tuesday evening, Mrs May’s spokesman said.
Asked whether she was confident that ministers at the Cabinet meeting would be united behind her strategy, Mrs May told Sky News: "Yes, the Cabinet is absolutely clear about the destination we are aiming for in relation to our European negotiations.
"We want to make sure we get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom as we leave the European Union.
"What we want to do is to ensure not just a good deal on trade, but also on our future security and relationship on law enforcement and criminal justice."
And challenged over calls for Mr Johnson to face the sack, she said: "Boris is doing good work as Foreign Secretary. He has been doing that here at the United Nations."
Speculation has been rife that Mr Johnson may resign or be sacked after his explosive article setting out his personal blueprint for Brexit overshadowed the run-up to the Florence address.
The essay sparked reports that the Cabinet is split between those like Chancellor Philip Hammond, who favour an "EEA-minus" deal similar to Switzerland's involving payments for access to the single market, and those including Mr Johnson who prefer a "Ceta-plus" arrangement involving a simple free trade deal like Canada's.
Asked if Mrs May thought Mr Johnson would remain in the Cabinet beyond the weekend, the PM's spokesman told reporters in New York: "Yes. Boris Johnson is the Foreign Secretary and, as the Prime Minister has said, he is doing a good job."
The former chancellor said that “in any normal circumstances” the Foreign Secretary would be fired for publishing his 4,000 word article pressing for a hard Brexit.
