The culture secretary, who is one of Johnson’s staunchest supporters, said he was a “great leader” and was “very disappointed” that he will be stepping down on September 5. But Dorris said they needed to look to the future and hailed Liz Truss as “someone who has both integrity and faith and can take the baton using those very important qualities to take the country forward”. Despite having been heavily critical of Mr Sunak for escalating a blue-on-blue slang battle between the two camps of the Tory leadership, Dorris tried to avoid being drawn into criticism of the former chancellor. “It’s no secret that things happened that shouldn’t have happened and that Boris Johnson was removed in a coup,” she told Sky News when asked about her view of Sunak. Despite being told a YouGov survey found Johnson had a net favorability rating of -90% among Tory voters in 2019 who plan to switch to Labor at the next election, Dorries said he was “not really paying much attention” polls. He said “there’s only one that matters”, which was the result of the last general election where the Conservatives won an 80-seat majority. Dorries said the UK has lost a leader who helped secure that victory, led the UK through Covid and offered support to Ukraine after Russia invaded. But speaking from Birmingham, where the Commonwealth Games will be held from Thursday, the culture minister refused to be drawn further into her public criticism of Sunak. He said the Commonwealth Games and the England football team preparing for the Euro 2022 final on Sunday meant “the next few days are not about leadership, but about showing what is great about this country”. The Tory leadership race “will continue all summer”, Dorries said, adding: “It’s a really important day and I think we need to focus on the positives.” The interview was interrupted after an argument with an off-screen man who could be heard arguing with the camera operator filming the Sky News interview. “I’m afraid we’ll have to leave now,” he said. A man was heard shouting: “Touch me then? You can’t because you’ll be arrested for assault.” Doris replied, “He’s not touching you,” before looking around and calling for security. The man replied, “He can’t touch me, lady, what do you mean he can’t touch me? He can’t, I’ll arrest him in five seconds.” Dorries doubled down on her attacks on Mr Sunak in a later interview, saying the “ruthless coup” against Johnson was “largely led” by the former chancellor. She criticized him for wearing a pair of Prada shoes on a visit to Teesside earlier this month, saying it was “one of our most socially deprived areas” and adding: “If you’re going to be prime minister of this country, you have to understand the lives of people, you must have walked in their shoes.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Dorris defended owning a pair of expensive shoes herself, saying: “I am not and will never stand to be Prime Minister.” He suggested it was not impossible for Johnson to return as prime minister in the future. “They used to say a week is a long time in politics, but a few minutes is a long time in politics these days. Who will be foolish enough to predict the future?’ Dorris said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Despite some Tory members pushing for her to appear on the leadership ballot, Doris said she had been told explicitly by Johnson in recent days: “Tell them to stop, it’s not right.” He also played down the suggestion that Johnson would serve in the cabinet after he steps down in five weeks and described a report in the Daily Mirror that he was seeking a safer place in parliament as “100% nuclear-grade tosh”. Victoria Atkins, a former home secretary who resigned as part of the wave of resignations that ousted Johnson, said the reason a leadership contest was held was the behavior of the prime minister and those around him. “I don’t think we can pretend otherwise, nor should we pretend otherwise,” he told Sky News. Atkins, who supports Sunak, said she did not agree with Dorris’s coup comments, but said – with a smile – that her colleague had “a very exuberant range of language”.
