Churchill grandson: "Johnson is not like Churchill at all"

Years ago, Boris Johnson wrote a biography of Winston Churchill. The legendary British war protester is the role model of Johnson, his hero. Since assuming the office of prime minister himself, Johnson has increasingly sought to stage himself as a playwright to Churchill.

The grandson of Churchill, Nicholas Soames, however, sees no similarities between his grandfather and Johnson. "Boris Johnson is not like Winston Churchill," Soames told the Times.

Simon Dawson / REUTERS

The Tory politician Nicholas Soames was banned from Boris Johnson faction

His grandfather was influenced by his experiences in life. "Boris Johnson's experience in life is to have told a lot of lies about the European Union in Brussels and then to have become Prime Minister." He believes his grandfather would not endorse the "extraordinary relationship we have with this great European Union have to give up, "added Soames.

Soames, along with 20 other Tory MPs, was banned by Johnson on Tuesday for voted in favor of a bill designed to prevent an unregulated UK exit on October 31. Johnson's harsh crackdown with his inner-party critics had met with harsh criticism.

Brexit dispute puts Johnson under pressure

Johnson gets increasingly in the Brexit dispute on the defensive. On Friday, the House of Lords passed a law designed to prevent an unregulated withdrawal from the EU on 31 October. Now only the approval of the law by Queen Elizabeth II is missing, so that it can come into force. This was expected so far on Monday.

Johnson, who had come up with the promise to lead the country out of the international community if necessary without a deal, had defied the law with all his might. It provides for a postponement of the EU exit date, unless a deal is ratified by 19 October. Now he is desperately looking for a way to trigger a new election to reverse the law before October 31st (read more in the current SPIEGEL cover story).

On Monday, Johnson wants to vote for a second time in parliament on an early ballot. He'd crashed at the first attempt.