Boris Johnson’s spokesperson wouldn’t say whether he’s actually read his own Brexit deal

Boris Johnson repeatedly promised to “get Brexit done” ahead of the 2019 general election.

And, while he took until the following December to do so – and threatened to breach international law in the process – he did, as far as securing a trade deal between the UK and the EU goes.

But questions have now arisen about whether he’s actually familiar with all of the details of the deal he agreed on.

When pressed by reporters, a Downing Street spokesman refused to confirm categorically that Johnson had read the trade deal in full. Instead, he said:

“The prime minister is fully aware of the deal that we agreed.”

Whether or not Johnson read all 1,246 pages of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement became a subject of speculation after fisheries minister Victoria Prentis admitted that she hadn’t on its initial release – because she was too busy “organising the local Nativity”.

Asked whether she was shocked when she first saw the deal on Christmas Eve during an EU environment subcommittee meeting, she said:

“No, the agreement came when we were all very busy on Christmas Eve, in my case organising the local Nativity trail. We had been waiting and waiting, it looked like it was coming for probably four days before it actually arrived.

I, for one, had gone through, as I'm sure members of this committee had, a gamut of emotions over those four days.”

Her comments followed delays to seafood exports after the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December. A spokesperson for the prime minister said he retained confidence in her. 

Johnson’s alleged aversion to hard work has been a subject of speculation before.

A Sunday Times report on Johnson’s early response to the Covid-19 crisis suggested that the prime minister doesn’t work weekends, while an earlier Times article states that his aides are instructed to keep their briefing memos short.

Downing Street has been contacted for further comment and we’ll update you if they respond.