Boris Johnson has been branded “pathetic” after he postponed a phonecall with Vladimir Putin amid the partygate scandal.
The prime minister’s official spokesman revealed this morning he was due to speak to the Russian president in a phone call on Monday afternoon as part of efforts to avoid a conflict in Ukraine.
However, a Downing Street source confirmed with HuffPost UK that the call had been “postponed”.
They could not say when it would take place, only that they were looking for a new date.
The PM’s official spokesman separately said there had not been a “settled time” for the call.
SNP MP Stewart McDonald tweeted simply: “A pathetic embarrassment.”
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said: “Amid a dangerous crisis threatening peace in Europe, a vital diplomatic opportunity has been missed as Boris Johnson scrambles to hold on to his job.
“These are the real world consequences of a distracted prime minister unfit for office running a government in disarray.”
Johnson’s spokesman said: “It’s not unusual for timings with world leaders to change and you will appreciate the control of the timing for the receipt of this report rightly (was) with Sue Gray and her team, and the prime minister had committed to come to the house to make an update.”
Johnson is set to visit Ukraine on Tuesday alongside foreign secretary Liz Truss when he will hold a press conference with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Truss today warned Russian oligarchs they have “nowhere to hide” as she announced a crackdown on Kremlin-linked money.