London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Boris Johnson booed as he arrives at St Paul’s for platinum jubilee event

Prime minister greeted with whistles and jeers by crowd waiting at cathedral for Queen’s thanksgiving service

Boris Johnson was greeted by a chorus of boos as he arrived at the Queen’s platinum jubilee thanksgiving service on Friday morning.

Stepping out of his car when it pulled up at St Paul’s Cathedral in London with his wife, Carrie, the prime minister was met with boos and whistles by frustrated spectators.

During an awkward 15-second walk up the stairs where senior royals, dignitaries and politicians were marking the second day of celebrations to honour the Queen’s 70-year reign, Johnson appeared unfazed as he smiled and nodded.

A handful of people in the crowds behind him could be seen clapping and there were some high-pitched cheers.

When the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, arrived minutes later, the crowd remained quiet.

Keir Starmer arriving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday.


Other senior politicians who attended the service, which the Queen missed after suffering discomfort on Thursday evening, included the home secretary, Priti Patel, and foreign secretary, Liz Truss. Former prime ministers were also there to pay tribute to the Queen.

During the thanksgiving service, Johnson gave a reading from Philippians 4 of the New Testament, which says: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure … think about such things.”

Afterwards, he was greeted by a small group of supporters cheering, some of whom chanted: “Boris, Boris, Boris.”

The initial greeting was reminiscent of the then chancellor, George Osborne, being booed during the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

Johnson was heckled on the campaign trail in the run-up to the 2019 election, but still won an 80-seat majority in the House of Commons.

However, being booed by the crowd that gathered outside St Paul’s, made up of royalists who had camped for a front-row spot for hours, could be an ominous sign for Johnson.

A Labour source said: “I don’t know if a Tory PM has ever been booed by a crowd of dedicated royalists before, but it feels a lot like he’s lost the dressing room.”

Dozens of Tory MPs have questioned his leadership or called on him to quit in the aftermath of a damning report into Partygate, which found that parties in Downing Street lasted until 4am, with vomiting and wine spilled up walls.

More than 120 people were penalised by police over the gatherings, and while Johnson has apologised, he has continued to insist he thought he was attending work events and that it was important to keep staff’s morale high throughout the pandemic.

Earlier, the head of the Grassroots Conservatives organisation, which represents rank-and-file Tory members, called on Johnson to quit.

Ed Costello told the Daily Telegraph: “I’ve come to the conclusion that he probably should resign, and if he had any sense he would resign before he was pushed.

“He needs to go before the next election, because some of what he has done will put off voters. He just hasn’t been wholly honest about what went on, and it would have been better if he ’fessed up and it would all have been over.”

Costello said recent tax rises were “silly” given the cost of living crisis and spiralling inflation, adding: “The tax rise is going to hit people at a time when they’re already being hit, and the cut in benefits was a foolish thing to do.”

However, Johnson has been defended by several cabinet ministers in recent days. Jacob Rees-Mogg said this week that the prime minister remained “an enormous electoral asset”.

He added: “I think the idea that a change of leader would help the Conservatives is for the birds. It would be the most divisive thing that the party could do. It’s an exceptionally silly thing to want to try and open the door to Sir Keir Starmer, assuming he manages to survive.”

Patel also called the attempt by Tory MPs to oust Johnson a “sideshow” and told rebels to “forget it”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×