Anger of Boris Johnson's allies at calls to axe him as Foreign Secretary over Saudi Arabia remark

Boris Johnson’s allies reacted furiously today after a Tory grandee suggested he should be axed as Foreign Secretary if he does not rein in his outspoken public comments.

Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind backed Theresa May for rebuking Mr Johnson after he accused British ally Saudi Arabia of being behind “proxy wars”.

He hinted that the former Mayor of London is more “dangerous” than “dull” as Foreign Secretary and that he “might end up being more comfortable in another senior Cabinet position”.

While praising Mr Johnson for his intellect, Sir Malcolm stressed: “As a Foreign Secretary you can’t be a celebrity.

“The jury’s out, if I can put it that way. This is early days. It’s a question of his temperament.”

But the intervention by the former Kensington MP drew a stinging riposte from Mr Johnson’s allies.

One said: “Mr Rifkind wasn’t exactly the best Foreign Secretary this country has ever had and should go back to whatever he is doing these days and stop sniping from the sidelines.”

Another Johnson ally said: “Sir Malcolm’s suggestion to move him would be nonsensical.

“What Boris has to say about Saudi Arabia is spot on and 99 per cent of the country will agree with him.

“It’s quite refreshing to have a senior politician who from time to time is prepared to speak his mind and tell the truth.”

Mr Johnson was heading to Bahrain today to deliver a speech at a major regional conference before flying on to Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

British diplomats will be keen to smooth over any turbulence with Riyadh after the Foreign Secretary told an event in Rome last week that both Saudi Arabia and Iran were “puppeteering and playing proxy wars”.

Downing Street insisted this was his personal view and not the Government’s, while saying the Prime Minister still had full confidence in him.

Mr Johnson’s allies criticised No10’s distancing itself from his comments, with one saying it was a “ridiculous attempt to belittle a member of the Cabinet”.

Mrs May spoke with Saudi King Salman during her visit to the Persian Gulf this week and assured him of the Government’s “commitment to enhancing and strengthening this relationship”, despite the desert kingdom’s controversial military intervention in Yemen.

Sir Malcolm said appointing Mr Johnson as Foreign Secretary had been a “gamble” by Mrs May, though most of his embarrassments so far have been down to comments made before he took up the post.

However, the Tory grandee added: “If Boris has views which are not currently Government policy, then he is in a better position than almost anyone else in the United Kingdom to change that foreign policy, or to try and persuade the Prime Minister to change it.

“What he is not entitled to do is to make public statements, at a major event in Rome, which are completely at variance with what the Government’s line is.

“He must have known that - at least he ought to have known that - and he shouldn’t have done it.”

The Foreign Office has stressed that Mr Johnson had made clear that Britain is an ally of Saudi Arabia and supported it in its efforts to secure its borders and protect its people.