Boris Johnson’s sister on why he averted London riots – ‘I child you not’

Boris Johnson didn’t rush back during the London riots because his then-wife wasn’t tall enough to drive the car they were in, his sister claimed.

Mr Johnson was Mayor of London when the violence broke out in 2011. He was criticised for not coming back straight away – a decision back under the spotlight after Keir Starmer cancelled his family holiday due to rioting.

Now Mr Johnson’s sister Rachel has given a bizarre explanation for his absense in the crucial days when law and order broke down. She said the former PM was holidaying in a camper van in Canada with his wife Marina and four children when he belatedly learned what was happening back home.

Ms Johnson claimed her brother didn’t have any phone signal for much of the trip, and when he did learn of the emergency couldn’t leave his partner as she couldn’t reach the pedals. Speaking to a caller on LBC, she said: “It is my understanding that he was with his four children in an RV in the wilds of Canada.

“He didn’t even have mobile phone signal for about 48 hours and then the message got through – ‘London’s burning’. He said ‘I’ve got to go back’. But the thing was Marina, his then wife, is 5 foot 2 and her feet could not reach the pedals of the RV. He could not leave her with four children in the RV.

“That is why – I kid you not – he didn’t come back immediately. He had to drive the RV to an international airport and then fly back.”

Caller Chris responded: “Good story, good story.” Mr Johnson came under heavy criticism for not returning as the crisis unfolded in the city he represented.

Home Secretary Theresa May cut short her holiday to respond to the rioting. It comes after Mr Starmer opted not to take his family away this week.

Mr Johnson himself wrote that it was time for Mr Starmer to “recharge the batteries” in a bitterly-worded attack encouring him to “show some guts”.

In a puzzling intervention, Mr Johnson appeared to urge the PM to go on holiday. He wrote in the Daily Mail: “Rather than holding any more meetings and giving any more of your stunned-mullet press conferences, it is time for you to recharge the batteries. You need to scrunch the sand between your toes, squint at the sea and think.

“You need to reflect on the events of the past month, and the whole strategy of the Labour Government, because it is starting to look like a frenzy of utter stupidity.” He went on: “Have some guts, face down your critics, and acquire the perspective that comes with distance and a kilo of retsina.”