Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Ukraine as he comes under pressure over claims that he involved the BBC chair Richard Sharp in talks that led to his securing an £800,000 line of credit while at No 10.
Former civil service chief Sir Bob Kerslake said there was “no question” that there appeared to be a conflict of interest – describing the reported involvement of Mr Sharp in the talks as an “important departure from what should really happen”.
The former prime minister was seen walking in the surburbs of Kyiv on Sunday, despite warnings from senior military figures that he should stay away and stop “looking for publicity”.
Former army chief Lord Dannatt previously told The Independent that Mr Johnson was a “loose cannon” whose plan to visit Ukraine could upstage Rishi Sunak, while Lord West, a former First Sea Lord, warned the former PM against “looking for publicity”.
But Mr Johnson said he had been invited by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to visit the country for a fourth time, as he urged Western leaders to give Ukraine “all the tools they need”.
In a statement on Sunday, the former prime minister said: “It is a privilege to visit Ukraine at the invitation of President Zelensky. The suffering of the people of Ukraine has gone on for too long.”
He added: “The only way to end this war is for Ukraine to win – and to win as fast as possible. This is the moment to double down and to give the Ukrainians all the tools they need to finish the job. The sooner Putin fails, the better for Ukraine and for the whole world.”
