Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson sat down with Al Arabiya English for an exclusive one-hour interview on Monday.
Presenter Michael Prendergast spoke with Mr. Johnson about the Israel-Gaza peace process, President Trump’s potential role in the negotiations as well as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership in the UK.
The conversation also explored the rise of Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s political influence, and whether Mr. Johnson plans to return to frontline politics.
Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/JrYPQfZNgKE?si=EhpkkK2r9N7xRZ-y
ON PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE ISRAEL-GAZA DEAL: “Well, I think it’s an astonishing piece of good news. I think it must be a moment of great joy and relief for people in Israel, but also for people in Gaza, because it means an end to the horrifying bombardments. It means we’re on the road to peace. This is a very unfashionable thing to say in London or in Europe or wherever in liberal circles, but I really pay credit to Donald. I give him credit. I think he has worked unbelievably hard. He exerted American pressure, obviously on Hamas, because he said to them, ‘Look, if you don’t sign this thing, you’re going to get wiped out.’ But also, he’s put the hard word on Netanyahu. It wasn’t easy for Netanyahu because he got these guys in his coalition, the ultra right wing nationalists who don’t support the agreement. But Netanyahu has had the courage to go ahead and do a deal anyway. It’s a very, very hopeful moment. Israel needs to understand and the government of Israel needs to understand that this is the beginning of a process that must give the Palestinians some ability to decide how to run their own lives.”
ON IF JOHNSON THINKS DONALD TRUMP DESERVES THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR HIS PART IN THE DEAL: “I do. I think that he has applied the force of his personality and the power of his office to move mountains and to get this thing done. What you see is what you get. The great thing about Donald Trump is his public persona and his real political persona are completely united. They are the same thing. He’s very lucky. He speaks from the heart, and it’s unmediated by calculation. He just said it, and he’s very effective.”
“But the way to make this thing nailed on for Trump, you can win the prize, several liberal prizes for peace. If he applies to Vladimir Putin the same pressure that he’s put on Hamas. He needs to step up the pressure on Putin, and we all do. The war in Gaza has been terrible, but the war in Ukraine has killed exponentially more people. That’s my tip for how the President can win the prize. It belongs with the Americans and with Trump, definitely.”
ON UK’S ROLE IN REBUILD OF GAZA: “I hope that the UK will play a big role in rebuilding Gaza, and I hope that there will be, whether Tony Blair is there or not, there’s got to be some way of giving confidence to investors in Gaza, and there will be. It’s got to be a Palestinian-run place, but without Hamas. We’ve got to help that happen. We’ve got to help trigger business investment. That’s the best solution.”
ON TONY BLAIR’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE BOARD OF PEACE: “Actually, I think, to be fair, he has worked very hard on this deal, and he should get a lot of praise for helping to put it together, Tony Blair. I don’t think it’s the end of the world if he’s not there in the Peace Council.”
ON SIR KEIR STARMER RECOGNISING THE STATE OF PALESTINE: “I think it’s completely vacuous. I think it’s trivial. I think it made no difference. It didn’t give the Palestinians anything worthwhile. It didn’t give the people growing up in Gaza anything worthwhile. It was premature. I mean, it should happen eventually, but it’s premature now and it has achieved nothing.”
ON HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT SIR KEIR STARMER: “You’re seriously asking me this question? He was my opponent. He’s terrible. He’s a human ballard. He pretends to be very much holier than thou. He pretends to be righteous. But he took all these free suits, free spectacles. Imagine that. 8,000-pound spectacles he took from some labour donor. It was a scandal. Free shoes, free everything. Ridiculous. He gets pushed around. But you don’t let China push you around. It’s very weak of Starmer to give in to this pressure. Very, very weak.
“Nothing I say should in any way prejudice people’s desire to come to London, have a wonderful time. I used to be mayor of the city for eight years as well as Prime Minister. It’s a wonderful country. It’s a great place to be. But it’s sad at the moment because Starmer doesn’t know what to do. He’s making huge economic mistakes. He’s taking too much in tax from businesses. He’s driving people overseas. We haven’t seen this for 50 years, people leaving the country because of a labour government.”
