Theresa May accuses Boris Johnson of surrendering Britain’s 'global moral leadership'

Theresa May has accused Boris Johnson of surrendering Britain’s “global moral leadership” in her most outspoken attack to date on her successor.

The former prime minister claimed Mr Johnson had failed to live up to “our values” by threatening to break international law in Brexit negotiations and suspending commitments on foreign aid spending.

Mrs May has previously criticised Mr Johnson’s Government during debates in the House of Commons, but in an article to mark Joe Biden’s inauguration as US President she is far more personal in her attack.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Mrs May said Mr Johnson’s decisions had not “raised our credibility in the eyes of the world”.

The article is likely to be seen as a score-settling exercise by Mrs May, who had an uneasy relationship with Mr Johnson during her time in Downing Street.

Mr Johnson played a key role in Mrs May’s downfall when he resigned as foreign secretary in July 2018 after saying he could not support the Brexit deal she was proposing. Mrs May limped on in office for another year but stepped down in July 2019 after repeated defeats in Parliamentary Brexit votes.

In turn, Mr Johnson believed Mrs May tried to thwart his own leadership ambitions and described her as a “silly cow”, according to his biographer Tom Bower.

In her article she describes Mr Biden’s election as a “golden opportunity” for Britain to help make the world safer, but says Mr Johnson will be unable to take advantage of it unless there is a “change in world politics” and leaders including Mr Johnson behave differently.

She says: “We have been sliding towards absolutism in international affairs: if you are not 100 per cent for me, you must be 100 per cent against me. Compromise is seen as a dirty word.

“We must reject a scene in which a few strongmen face off against each other and instead bring people together in a common cause.”

She adds: “To lead we must live up to our values.”

Mr Johnson had not done so in Brexit talks or overseas aid, because: “Threatening to break international law by going back on a (European Union) treaty we had just signed and abandoning our position of global moral leadership as the only major economy to meet both the 2 per cent defence spending target and the 0.7 per cent international aid target were not actions which raised our credibility in the eyes of the world.

“Other countries listen to what we say not simply because of who we are, but because of what we do. The world does not owe us a prominent place on its stage. Whatever the rhetoric we deploy, it is our actions which count. So, we should do nothing which signals a retreat from our global commitments.”

Mrs May, who was repeatedly accused of weak leadership during her time in power, says that “strong leadership” knows when to compromise.

Mrs May, whose relationship with Donald Trump was also difficult at times, after he told her how to conduct the Brexit negotiations and said her stance was “foolish”, condemns Mr Trump over the “whipped up” mob that stormed the Capitol earlier this month.

She also says: “With Donald Trump, I never knew what to expect – from being offered, sometimes literally, the hand of friendship to hearing him question core tenets of the transatlantic alliance.

“When a British prime minister walks out for a joint press conference with the world's media unsure if the United States president standing next to her will agree that Nato is a bulwark of our collective defence, you know you are living in extraordinary times.

"Mr Biden will have his own agenda in pursuit of the US national interest, but he will be a more predictable and reliable partner for Global Britain.”