Boris Johnson's dad says son's decision to support Leave campaign could be 'career-ending'

BBC Radio 4 / Today

Mr Johnson denied suggestions that his son's support of leaving the EU is a careerist move

Boris Johnson's father has said that his son's decision to support the campaign to leave the EU could be a "career-ending" move. 

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier today, Stanley Johnson described the belief that his son's move was made with his career in mind as a "total travesty" and went on to describe the Mayor of London's decision as potentially fatal to his political aspirations.

This is what Mr Johnson said: 

"I think he [Boris] has done a really well thought out move. A move in the sense that it represents his deep conviction that at this moment this is what he needed to do... Honestly, I think to say that this is a careerist sort of move would be a total travesty. I can't think of any more of a career-ending move than to do what he did yesterday. He's leaving the mayoralty in May and if he wanted to get a nice job in the cabinet on May the 8th this is certainly not the way to do it."

Boris Johnson has become the latest high-profile politician close to David Cameron to declare his support for the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union. 

Some newspaper columnists such as the Daily Mail's Andrew Pierce have suggested that the move was a calculated one with party leadership hopes in mind, but the Mayor's father was quick to shoot this notion down. 

Boris' support could be really important for the Leave campaign, because many people value his opinion. A recent London Evening Standard poll showed that a third of voters regard Johnson's opinion as "important" when it comes to deciding which way to vote.

An extract from the interview can be viewed below.