I almost spat my cornflakes out in surprise at Martin Kettle’s deferential analysis of Boris Johnson’s premiership so far (Who is Boris Johnson? Our assumptions are all wrong, Journal, 9 January) – particularly his suggestion that “Johnson’s reluctance to grandstand the Iranian issue ... may be tactical – not least because of the Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe case”. In fact, Johnson couldn’t care less what anyone thinks about his reprehensible part in Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s continued incarceration. And December’s election triumph will have convinced him he’s in the clear over 2017’s unforgivable “teaching people journalism” gaffe. Kettle says that Johnson’s time in office “may be more formidable, and certainly more interesting, than many have supposed”. I doubt it. Now he’s in No 10, his only “policy” will be choosing the easiest way to stay there.
Joe McCarthy
Dublin, Ireland
• Martin Kettle claims that Boris Johnson has hidden depths, which may yet surprise those of us who have formed opinions based on the plentiful evidence of his professional, political and personal life. However, the team of MPs Johnson recruited to ensure he could achieve his principal policy objective have given early notice that kinder, gentler politics has given way to normal service by rejecting safeguards for child refugees (Withdrawal bill no longer includes protections, 9 January).
Les Bright
Exeter, Devon
• Unusually for him, Martin Kettle seems far too uncritical. Johnson has kept out of trouble so far not through a newly found discipline but by doing as little as possible. Has Kettle already forgotten what he was like as foreign secretary? Or are we to suppose that Johnson was saving himself for what he could regard as a really important job? As for Johnson as a politically liberal mayor of London, he lived off the record of his predecessor and left the hard stuff to his subordinates. Yes, it is early days for Johnson as PM, but he has a very poor record to overcome.
Margaret Pelling
Oxford
• If Martin Kettle’s analysis of Boris Johnson’s reshaping of himself is correct, rather than drawing upon Prince Hal for inspiration, might he in fact be looking towards another leading 15th-century leader, the arch-pragmatist Louis XI of France? One of his many nicknames was “The Spider” – quite appropriate for Boris, methinks.
Andrew Lamkowski
Taunton, Somerset
• The address on the final letter above was amended on 13 January 2020. Because of an editing error, an earlier version placed Taunton in Devon.
