Sir Conor Burns Reveals Boris Johnson Privately Compared Theresa May to a 'Giant Yucca Tree' While Serving as Her Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson compared Theresa May to a giant Yucca tree in the Brazilian rainforest under whose shade everything dies, according to his former parliamentary private secretary Sir Conor Burns. Johnson made the remark after May appointed him foreign secretary following the 2017 general election.

Sir Conor, who served as Johnson's parliamentary private secretary when Johnson was foreign secretary and who represented Bournemouth West as a Conservative MP from 2010 to 2024, said the appointment was intended to sideline a rival.

Johnson also reacted to May's decision to call a snap general election in 2017 by asking what would happen when the public saw her. Sir Conor wrote that Johnson predicted the move would end in disaster and described May as a stunningly stupid blank canvas who exemplified the political Peter Principle.

Sir Conor said Johnson relied on Dominic Cummings to force through Brexit because he lacked the gumption to prorogue parliament or withdraw the whip from MPs without him.

The relationship between the two men later became cancerous, Sir Conor stated. Johnson appointed Sir Simon Case as cabinet secretary and Sir Mark Spencer as chief whip. Sir Conor described Case as lightweight and said a senior No 10 figure observed that one of Spencer's cows would have performed better as chief whip.

Rival camps around Johnson and Michael Gove hated each other, Sir Conor wrote. Sir Alan Duncan could not conceal his loathing for Johnson, and Foreign Office mandarins viewed Johnson as an affront to their values. Sir Bernard Jenkin led the knucklehead Brexiteers and resented Johnson as a Johnny-come-lately to the anti-EU campaign.

Johnson replied with an FFS text message when Steve Baker was reported close to tears and ready to take over as prime minister to save Brexit. Johnson was very close to sacking Liz Truss while she served in his cabinet. Sir Conor said that when Truss arrived uninvited to offer support, one could start measuring curtains in No 10.

Sir Conor said Wendy Morton was known near universally as Wendy Moron and likened her to Wallace and Gromit. He said Matt Hancock predictably lived up to the last four letters of his name. Sir Anthony Seldon's book The Brexit Effect is being serialised in The Independent as part of the newspaper's Europe: The Way Back campaign examining the impact of Brexit.