Helena Morrissey attends the Harper’s Bazaar At Work Summit on November 23, 2021 in London, England
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Harper’s Bazaar
- A Conservative peer has quit her role as a government adviser after calling for Boris Johnson to resign.
- Baroness Helena Morrissey said Johnson is in the “wrong job” in an LBC interview on Tuesday.
- Morrissey, a banker and campaigner, was made a Conservative peer in September 2020.
A government adviser and Conservative peer has quit her Foreign Office role after saying Boris Johnson was in the “wrong job” and should resign.
Baroness Helena Morrissey, a Tory member of the House of Lords, resigned as a senior non-executive director on the board of the Foreign Office on Wednesday afternoon.
Her departure followed an LBC interview with Andrew Marr on Tuesday evening, in which the peer said she would rather Johnson not continue as prime minister after he narrowly won a vote of confidence Monday evening.
Morrissey said Johnson was a “very talented person” who is “in the wrong job”.
“There’s contrition, and deeds not words, but I don’t see any contrition. He said we’ll bash on. That’s not what we want to hear. Tax cuts one minute after we’ve just raised them – that’s not going to help,” she said.
Morrissey described Johnson as a “liability rather than an asset” to the Conservative Party’s chance of re-election, demonstrated by crowds at a Platinum Jubilee event at St Paul’s Cathedral booing Johnson on his arrival.
—Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) June 3, 2022
Morrissey, a banker and campaigner, was put forward for a peerage by Johnson, entering the House of Lords in September 2020. She joined the board of the Foreign Office in July 2020 as the senior non-executive director, paid between £10,000 to £15,000-a-year.
Julian Smith, a Conservative MP, former minister and Johnson critic, said he was “very sorry” to hear of her departure from the government.
“Her drive, focus & commitment to diversity will be badly missed,” he said in a tweet.
He noted the work Morrissey has done to get more women in leadership roles and added: “We can’t afford to lose talent like this.”
Morrissey told Insider she had left, but did not comment further.
The Foreign Office had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
