Labour calls on foreign secretary to explain why he took time to discuss The Churchill Factor and sign copies at Belgrade store

Boris Johnson spent time on an official trip to Serbia as foreign secretary promoting his latest book about Winston Churchill, it has emerged.

Johnson discussed The Churchill Factor, his biography of the wartime prime minister, and signed a few copies at a bookstore in Belgrade on the second day of his trip earlier this month.

Labour called on the foreign secretary, who was given the senior job by Theresa May in July, to explain why he spent time on an official visit talking about his book. He was photographed at the shop in front of a cutout of Winston Churchill and displays of the book cover.

The Serbian translator of the book was present, and there were a number of media reports following the event. His Serbian publisher also tweeted about the signing.

Albion Books (@AlbionBux) Brilliant remarks about Factor Churchill. Thanks for visiting Belgrade and Geca Kon bookshop .@BorisJohnson .@ukinserbia .@OnlineDanas pic.twitter.com/x7xgj97Lo0

Although it was trailed in Serbian media before his arrival as an event about The Churchill Factor, the Foreign Office said it was “absolutely not a promotional event”.



A source said Johnson and his aides had specifically asked for it not to be about the book and that he was embarrassed to find the bookstore had welcomed him in such a way.

The source said he had talked about the book and writing to a small group of people and signed a few copies to be polite, but that there was no question of him trying to further his private interests on an official trip.



A spokesman for Johnson said it would be “completely wrong” to suggest he was doing any intentional publicity around the book.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman added: “The foreign secretary was invited to talk about freedom of the press at the oldest known bookstore in Belgrade. The store chose to welcome him by putting some of his books on display and some local people asked him to sign their books.”

Jugoslav Ćosić (@JugoslavCosicN1) Ekstremno zanaimljiva ličnost - Boris Johnson, UK ministar, istoričar, bivši novinar: "Mediji moraju biti dinamični I provokativni." pic.twitter.com/oYTEuDLO38

However, it is understood that eyebrows were raised in Belgrade about why he was talking about his book, the week after the election of Donald Trump in the US and with the UK engaged in intense international diplomacy over the Brexit vote.



It is not the only time The Churchill Factor has cropped up in the course of Johnson’s official work as foreign secretary. It is understood Johnson gave his own book as a gift to Murray McCully, the New Zealand foreign minister, after diplomatic meetings.

Asked whether the book was presented regularly by Johnson to his counterparts, a Foreign Office source said it was given only occasionally when information suggested the gift would be welcomed by a foreign visitor or host.



Johnson’s appearance at the event was criticised by Andrew Gwynne, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, who called for Johnson to “immediately explain” what he was doing talking about his book in Serbia.

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“Boris Johnson’s responsibility is to lead the Foreign Office, not beating the drum for his own book sales,” he said. “The Tories should focus on delivering for the country, sadly they’re more interested in furthering their own ends.”

Tom Brake, the foreign affairs spokesman for the Lib Dems, said Johnson should not be “moonlighting on a taxpayer-funded foreign visit”.

“It is further confirmation that he is wholly unsuited to sit at the cabinet table,” he said. “Johnson spent months lying to us all during the referendum campaign and now he can’t even manage to do the hard work of fixing the mess that he has put us in.”

Pat McFadden, the former shadow Europe minister, said: “The UK’s reputation is on the line at the moment. The post-referendum issues we face are challenging and serious. Every minister knows they can’t mix up their public duties with their private interests. When the foreign secretary is abroad he should be focusing on his job representing the country.”

Since taking on the job, Johnson, the former mayor of London and a leading Brexit campaigner, has had a mixed reaction on the international stage, with some of his counterparts bemused by the promotion and others reportedly charmed.

He had an uneasy start in the job after he was repeatedly pressed by foreign reporters to explain his past “outright lies” and insults about world leaders, including describing the US president as part-Kenyan and hypocritical.

More recently, his approach to Brexit was ridiculed by European ministers after he told Italy it would have to offer tariff-free trade in order to sell its prosecco in the UK.



Carlo Calenda, an economics minister, said it was insulting that Johnson had told him during a recent meeting that Italy would grant Britain access to the EU’s single market “because you don’t want to lose prosecco exports”.

