London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

PM’s flight of fancy as he jokes about firing Tory MPs into orbit

PM’s flight of fancy as he jokes about firing Tory MPs into orbit

Boris Johnson regales Farnborough airshow with tales of Typhoon jet in speech brimming with metaphors
Boris Johnson has joked about sending critical Conservative MPs into space and recalled doing a “fantastic loop the loop” in an RAF Typhoon as he reflected on his premiership in a valedictory speech.

While the race to replace him as prime minister narrowed in Westminster, Johnson told attendees at the Farnborough airshow that after “three happy years in the cockpit and after performing some pretty difficult if not astonishing feats”, he was “going to hand over the controls seamlessly to someone else”, but he added: “I don’t know who.”

In a typically Johnsonian speech peppered with jokes, metaphors and rogue historical references, he likened the pace of technological change in aviation to a fight between a “Tyrannosaurus rex and a killer whale”.

Describing the flight he took from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire last Thursday, he said: “Straight up like a vertical firecracker, we slipped the surly bonds of Earth – as the poet Magee puts it – and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.”

The wing commander onboard asked him if he wanted to have a go, but Johnson checked if he was sure because the jet cost £75m and there were only 148 in the RAF’s fleet. “Don’t worry, you can’t break it,” he was told.

“I thought, ‘Oh well, famous last words,” the prime minister said, recounting manoeuvring the gear stick to do “an aileron roll”, “a fantastic loop the loop” and then “a more complicated thing called a barrel roll”.

He said: “We started to pull a few Gs, as they say, and when I came back to consciousness I could see the sea getting closer and closer.” Johnson recalled the view this gave him of windfarms and his fondness for “clean, green energy” that would help end “any dependence” on imported Russian oil and gas.

“This reverie must have gone on for a while because my colleague said, ‘Er, I am taking back control now’, and we headed happily home,” Johnson said.

He asked how the Typhoon would fare against the first RAF plane he rode – an F-15E Strike Eagle – 25 years ago in South Carolina and likened it to the question of “what would happen in a fight between a Tyrannosaurus rex and a killer whale”.

Johnson said: “They said it would be no contest.”

In a wry dig at his critics, among them several Tory leadership contenders, the prime minister spoke of his hope for the UK to launch its first satellite, adding: “And I leave it to you to imagine who, at this stage, I would like to send into orbit. Perhaps a volunteer could be found from the green benches of parliament. I leave that entirely to your speculation.”

Johnson did have a serious message to deliver, stressing that given the temperatures in England are “higher than the Sahara”, there was an important need to address what he called the “carbon tea cosy that is heating our planet to destruction”, caused in part by aircraft emissions.

He said: “We know that we must fix it; we know that time is running out.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×