Boris Johnson was given the cold shoulder at cabinet on Tuesday after a controversial few days of outbursts over Brexit and flying to Afghanistan to avoid a crunch vote on Heathrow expansion.
Cabinet sources said the foreign secretary was ignored by senior ministers who were “fed up and disappointed” with his actions over the last few days, which they believed were damaging to the Conservative party.
Three cabinet ministers said the foreign secretary was met with a cool reception by some at the 90-minute meeting during which they discussed issues including the Brussels EU summit later this week and the government’s LGBT action plan.
Johnson was criticised by colleagues after reports that he said: “fuck business” when asked by diplomats about fears over the government’s handling of Brexit, even prompting a public dressing down from Theresa May.
He faced further disdain for choosing to travel to Kabul on the day of the key vote on a third runway so he could avoid choosing between his cabinet job and his longstanding opposition to the project, over which he had previously pledged to “lie down in front of the bulldozers”.
But the prime minister was understood to have concluded the meeting by appealing to ministers to stand together. She said that while she understood there were opposing views on the role of business and Brexit, the important thing was for the cabinet to remain united.
One cabinet minister, asked whether Johnson had been teased or chided by colleagues over his actions, replied: “Rather than jocularity, he generally got the cold shoulder.”
Another added: “Several people made the point in various levels of disguise. I’d say it added up less to cold shoulder than to barely concealed contempt.”
One senior Whitehall source said that the foreign secretary gave his “usual bollocks” over sticking to the UK’s red lines on Brexit and suggested that ministers were losing patience with him.
After the meeting, a third cabinet minister added: “Theresa puts up with a lot from Boris, but if he starts damaging the party’s reputation with business or breaking election promises, you move into different territory. Many of us are fed up and disappointed with his constant shows of ill-discipline.”
Senior Tories have privately suggested that he may have in recent weeks lost the support of backbenchers, who pick the final two in any leadership contest, and with it any chance of ever succeeding May.
But allies of Johnson accused other ministers of briefing against him. “This account is total nonsense and the version of events presented simply did not take place,” said one. Another added: “It sounds like extreme poetic licence and probably more a reflection of personal views rather than what happened in the meeting.”
Johnson landed back on British soil – at Heathrow airport, a point not lost on his critics – after his trip to Afghanistan, where he met the country’s president and British troops, early on Tuesday morning.
A slightly crumpled looking foreign secretary was then spotted arriving at No 10 for cabinet, before heading to the House of Commons for Foreign Office questions, where he yawned his way through an hour of debate after his overnight flight.
Asked by Labour MP Owen Smith about his comments to business, made at an event for EU diplomats in London last week during which he was also overheard saying he would fight a soft Brexit “and win”, he did not back away from them.
Instead, he told MPs: “I don’t think anybody could doubt the passionate support of this government for business. It may be that I have, from time to time, expressed scepticism about some of the views of those who profess to speak up for business.”
Johnson was ribbed for his no-show for the Heathrow vote. He said on Monday that resigning over the issue, like trade minister Greg Hands, would achieve “absolutely nothing” and he would prefer to continue lobbying privately instead.
Labour MP Paul Sweeney joked: “The foreign secretary’s looking rather sprightly this morning after his overnight flight, I hope the jet lag wasn’t too severe.”
The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, also teased Johnson over his absence, saying: “May I first sympathise with the foreign secretary that due to his emergency duties abroad he was unable to join last night’s fight against Heathrow expansion.
“Four years ago he was asked the biggest lesson that he had learned from his supposed hero Winston Churchill and his answer was, I quote: ‘Never give in, never give in, never give in.’ For some reason Churchill didn’t add: ‘Unless you can catch a plane to Kabul.’” Johnson, beyond a wry smile, did not respond.