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LONDON (Reuters) – Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Friday that he had separated from his wife, Marina Wheeler, and the couple were going to divorce, the Press Association reported.
PHOTO FILE: Former London mayor Boris Johnson and his wife, Marina Wheeler, leave polling station after voting in the referendum on the European Union in London, UK, on June 23 2016. REUTERS / Peter Nicholls
Johnson is the bookies' favorite to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May and is seen as someone who would lead Britain to a more radical departure from the European Union after being the figurehead of the 'Leave' campaign In 2016.
In a joint statement, Johnson and Wheeler said they had separated some time ago and that the divorce proceedings had begun. The former Johnson advisor confirmed that a statement was made to the Press Association.
The statement came after the Sun newspaper published an article on the front page saying that the couple, who has four children, had separated.
"Several months ago, after 25 years of marriage, we decided that it was in our best interest to separate. We have subsequently agreed to divorce and this process is under way, "the statement said, according to the Press Association.
Reuters tried to contact Johnson, a former mayor of London, directly by phone at his office and by email.
Johnson is one of the most recognizable figures of British politics thanks to his shock of blonde hair and the colorful turn of phrase. Brexit's lawyers say he is the man who should succeed in May and is popular with the party base.
"He's still the favorite," said Joe Crilly, spokesman for William Hill's bookmaker. "Over the years, Boris has been very Teflon … we think he still has a few lives left."
Johnson served as Foreign Minister in May for two years, until July, when he resigned in protest against his Brexit bargaining strategy, saying he would leave Britain as " colony "of the European Union.
Since then, he has repeatedly criticized the strategy in parliament and through his column in the newspapers.
May's future and the direction the country will take at its most important moment since the end of the Second World War are under scrutiny as Britain enters the final stages of the Brexit negotiations before its release from March 2019.
Her plan has little support in Brussels, which means that she has to accept further concessions to make the plan workable, and within her party, where the Eurosceptics already claim to have too much ground by looking for a 'book of common rules' in goods.
"I think that if the government were to fall, it would probably grow to the point of maximum chaos but if it manages to overcome Brexit, I will not see it," said Giles Kenningham, former advisor to Prime Minister 2010-2016 David Cameron. Sky News.
Report by James Davey, William James and Kylie MacLellan; Edited by Guy Faulconbridge, Michael Holden and Alison Williams
