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Daily Mirror
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Zoe Delaney

Rod Stewart 'still a fan' of Boris Johnson and tells ex PM 'talk to me' about a comeback

Sir Rod Stewart has admitted he's still a "bit of a fan" of disgraced former minister Boris Johnson, who was recently found to have committed “repeated contempt’s” of Parliament by a cross-party investigation.

The Maggie May singer, 78, said he thinks Johnson has "wonderful charisma" as he joked the controversial former politician should speak to him about making a potential comeback.

Johnson announced on Friday he would quit as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip immediately before the committee published their report on him misleading MPs over Partygate.

The committee said that Johnson deliberately misled MPs with his assertion that all rules had been followed during lockdown-breaching Downing Street parties.

Rod, who fumed over cruel Tory cuts at the star of this year, said earlier today: "I was and still am a bit of a fan of Boris because I think he’s got wonderful charisma.

The former prime minister has an unlikely fan in the form of Sir Rod Stewart (AP)

"But you know, you knew what you were getting with Boris, so it’s not unusual. He’s told a few porkies over the years. So I’m not surprised."

Speaking to Sky News, Rod added: "He’s in big trouble now. But how is he going to make a comeback? I don’t know. Maybe he should talk to me. I’ve been making comebacks for years."

Johnson escaped a 90-day suspension when he resigned as an MP in protest of the committee findings and submitted a resignation honour’s list that put forward MPs including Priti Patel and Jacob William Rees-Mogg.

Asked whether there should be a clearer system for putting forward peerages, Rod mused: "It does stink of a bit of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

"I don’t know the details of it, but I know some of the people that he chose, it was a bit of a ‘he’s my mate’ type of thing.

"Yeah, it should be sorted out, because the honours are wonderful. Absolutely. One of the proudest days of my life when I became a (knight).

"Now, I think from that day on, people have asked me ‘you’re doing a lot of charitable stuff?’ And I think yes, because I am a Knight."

Rod, who called on Labour to be 'given a go at running the country' at the star of the year, then revealed: "I’ve got people that work for me. They’re struggling, you know, I’ve just given everybody a 10% rise, I gave them a rise two years ago, because they’re struggling. The cost of living is ridiculous.

"What’s going to happen? Who’s going to sort this out?"

Rod meeting patients and medics at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex in February (PA)

Rod surprised fans in January as he tore into the Government over the state of the NHS during a Sky News phone-in.

The Hot Legs hitmaker was an unexpected caller to the broadcaster on January 26, where he offered to pay for scans for people stuck on waiting lists.

Rod followed through on his promise and met the people who have benefited from his generous donations the next month - posing for pictures with nurses before heading inside the hospital.

The dad-of-eight had previously been a lifelong fan of the Conservative Party prior to his comments earlier this year, but now says it's time to give the Labour Party a chance to run the country and sort out the crisis facing the NHS.

"I personally have been a Tory for a long time, but I think this Government should stand down now and give the Labour Party a go at it because this is heartbreaking for the nurses, it really is heartbreaking," Rod admitted in January.

"In all my years of living in this country I’ve never seen it so bad and anything I can do to help. Go on, the nurses. I’m on your side."

From 2001-2010, when Labour were in power under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the proportion of people in Great Britain surveyed reporting satisfaction with the NHS generally increased to a peak of 70%.

By March 2022, almost 12 years into the current Tory regin in 10 Downing Street, satisfaction had fallen to 36% and the NHS is now in crisis, thanks to a lack of funding and the government failing to negotiate with workers and prevent strikes.

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