China has reportedly shared concerns with Stanley Johnson that his son has not sent a personal message over the coronavirus outbreak.
An email from Stanley Johnson, seen by the BBC, was apparently sent to UK officials expressing the country's concern that there had been no "direct contact" from the prime minister.
Stanley Johnson had met with Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming before sending the message. The BBC said the corporation was copied into Stanley Johnson's email by mistake.
"Re the outbreak of coronavirus, Mr Liu obviously was concerned that there had not yet - so he asserted - been direct contact between the PM and Chinese head of state or government in terms of a personal message or telephone call," he wrote.
Lord Goldsmith reportedly replied to say the message was helpful.
The PM's father had met with the ambassador for 90 minutes on Tuesday, where he reportedly raised the possibility of his son visiting China in October to attend an international conference on biodiversity, COP15.
A source insisted to the BBC that the senior Johnson was not representing the government.
The government has been in close contact with Beijing over evacuating nationals from the virus epicentre. However, a message of support has not been publicised.
The Standard has contacted Downing Street for comment.
A government spokesman told the BBC the UK had been in close contact with authorities in China.
The death toll from the virus has risen to at least 563, while the number of infections has passed 28,000.
