Boris Johnson 'wanted to send Rishi Sunak a video calling him a c***' when he suddenly quit as chancellor

11 May 2023, 07:04 | Updated: 11 May 2023, 07:22

Boris Johnson wanted to send Rishi Sunak a video calling him a "c***" after he quit as chancellor, the ex-PM's former media chief has said.

Guto Harri, who was at Downing Street in the final months of Mr Johnson's tenure in 2022, has revealed in his new Global Player podcast how Mr Sunak blindsided No10 by quitting.

His resignation was among the first of a wave of ministers to quit the cabinet and ultimately bring down the premiership after a series of scandals including Partygate and the Chris Pincher accusations. Within two days of Mr Sunak's departure, Mr Johnson quit.

He sent Mr Harri a video he found online that he said he was considering sending to Mr Sunak.

Speaking on Unprecedented: Inside Downing Street, a new Global Player original podcast, Mr Harri said: "Rishi walked out. Didn't even tell Boris he was going to go.

"Basically, he went public with a resignation. And a few days later, Boris found a little video on the internet that expressed what he wanted to say to Rishi.

Listen and subscribe to Unprecedented: Inside Downing Street on Global Player

"He didn't send it, but he sent it to me and said, 'thinking of sending this to Rishi'.

"Video plays: 'you're a c***'.

"So, there you have it. If you really want to know how Boris Johnson felt about Rishi Sunak in the immediate aftermath of his toppling and the great betrayal of all time as he sees it, there you have it."

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It is the latest in a series of explosive claims made by Mr Harri on the podcast. He was director of communications between February and September 2022.

The new six-part podcast will reveal the inner workings of Government from his experiences at the heart of Mr Johnson's Downing Street operation during its final few months.

He has already revealed an extraordinary showdown between Mr Johnson and then-Prince Charles over the Rwanda migrant plan.

Listen and subscribe to Unprecedented: Inside Downing Street on Global Player

Charles had reportedly criticised it in private and was going to make a speech about slavery while visiting the capital Kigali.

"Boris squared up, confronted him and warned him 'I'd be careful' he said, 'or you'll end up having to sell the Duchy of Cornwall to pay reparations for those who built it.' Relations never fully recovered," Mr Harri said.

He also described how Mr Johnson viewed Sue Gray's inquiry into Downing Street parties during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Something was happening to Boris that he'd never had to deal with before. He was in real trouble. Big trouble," Mr Harri said.

"Conservative MPs in his words had become psychotic.

"The police were trawling all over Partygate and an inquiry led by an – until then, at least – obscure civil servant called Sue Gray, now a household name of course and a hero of the left, was planning what he described then as an orgy of pain, abuse and humiliation."

Mr Harri previously used the word "psycho" when asked how Mr Johnson viewed the senior civil servant, who is controversially set to join Labour as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff.