07 May 2023 , 21:00
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Boris Johnson ran No10 in a “chaotic” but “entertaining” way, Michael Gove has suggested.
The Tory minister said the former PM behaved like he was in charge of a newspaper in Cabinet meetings.
He told how Mr Johnson “loved the spark and the flow of ideas” when he gathered his ministers in Downing Street.
The Levelling Up Secretary has served as a minister under four Tory PMs, having also been in David Cameron, Theresa May and Rishi Sunak’s Cabinets.
Speaking on the Inside Whitehall podcast, Mr Gove said: “Whereas Theresa would rarely comment on what someone had said until right at the end when she summed it up, Boris would provide a running commentary on what you were saying.
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“He wouldn’t interrupt - well sometimes he would actually. But I would say something…and he’d say ‘yeah, yeah, yeah absolutely’ or ‘I think you’re absolutely wrong about that…what was it Momtezuma said’ and so on.
Michael Gove have had an on-off relationship after campaigning together for Brexit (Bloomberg via Getty Images)“And that made it entertaining. I know there’ll be some people who say that's chaotic but different prime ministers have different ways of working.”
Mr Gove spoke about how he knew his decision to back Brexit ahead of the 2016 referendum would put an “immense strain” on his friendships with people including David Cameron.
He recalled revealing his choice at a special Cabinet meeting convened after Mr Cameron returned from Brussels after negotiating a package of changes to the UK’s membership of the EU.
“I’m one of the first people who explains why I’m going to vote to leave and it is very difficult because I outline what I believe but I know that this could lead to, and it did lead to, immense strain on friendships and on the Government,” he told the podcast hosted by former government adviser James Starkie and Tory MP Jonathan Gullis.
“Now, politicians are paid to take decisions - I’m not asking for and I didn’t ask at the time for any sympathy over that.
“There will be people listening to this who will be glad that we left and people who regret it.
Michael Gove has served as a Cabinet minister under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak (PA)“But ultimately when you’re making a decision like that, when you’re paid as a minister to make a decision like that you’ve got to follow through on what you believe to be right on something as big as that.”
After Mr Cameron resigned as PM in the wake of the Brexit vote, Mr Gove initially planned to back Mr Johnson. But the pair fell out after he decided to withdraw his support at the last minute and launch his own bid.
They later patched things up and when Mr Johnson eventually became PM he appointed Mr Gove as a minister.
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In the final days of his premiership, he sacked Mr Gove after he urged him to resign.
Momtezuma was Emperor of the Aztec Empire.
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