Columnists From England

"I believe that, once this war is done, once the Ukrainians have won, then yes they should begin the process of induction both to Nato and to the EU."

"To those who say we may be denuding our own arsenals by giving the support, I say what is the point in deploying tanks and planes in North Carolina or North Rhine-Westphalia when Ukrainians could be using them now, where they are needed to help assure our collective security for decades?"

"He [Vladimir Putin] threatened me at one point, and he said, "Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute" or something like that. Jolly. But I think from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate."

"It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister. … I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them's the breaks. … I want to thank you, the British public, for the immense privilege that you have given me. And I want you to know that from now on until the new prime minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on."

"[I]f we took away the whip from everyone here [in the House of Commons] who's pinched someone's bottom, we'll lose our majority."

"I believed implicitly that this was a work event. But Mr. Speaker, with hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside, I should have found some other way to thank them, and I should have recognised that even if it could be said technically to fall within the guidelines, there would be millions and millions of people who simply would not see it that way."

"I can tell you; I DO brush it! I have a comb in my office!"

"I repeat, Mr. Speaker, that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party, and that no COVID rules were broken."

"No more fucking lockdowns - let the bodies pile high in their thousands."

"We have to recognise that the old concepts of fighting big tank battles on European land mass are over, and there are other, better things we should be investing in, in FCAS, in the future combat air system, in cyber, this is how warfare in the future is going to be."

"[The Conservative Party] thinks the whole thing is pathetic and Covid is just Nature's way of dealing with old people – and I am not entirely sure I disagree with them. A lot of moderate people think it is a bit too much."

"[On the assumption Carrie Symonds, now Johnson, had briefed against Dominic Cummings] She hasn't briefed anyone and my instructions to all were to shut the f*** up. How is any of us supposed to know where these briefings come from? Look at the claims made on behalf of allies of Lee [Cain] and Dom, that I'm out in six months, that I can't take decisions, that Carrie is secretly forging lockdown policy, and about a billion equally demented claims. Are you responsible for all that crap? No. Then look at it from my point of view. This is a totally disgusting orgy of narcissism by a government that should be solving a national crisis."

"I am meant to be in control. I am the Führer. I’m the king who takes the decisions."

"At this stage I do not think that the international comparisons and the data are yet there to draw the conclusions that we want."

"We have so far succeeded in the first and most important task we set ourselves as a nation to avoid the tragedy that engulfed other parts of the world."

"We are telling cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can and not to open tomorrow. To be clear they can continue to provide take out services. Night clubs, theatres, gyms and leisure centres should close on the same time scale. These are places where people come together and indeed the whole purpose is to bring people together. Some people will be tempted to go out tonight. Please don't. You may think you are invincible bit there is no guarantee you will get mild symptoms. As far as possible we want you to stay at home - that's how we can protect our NHS and save lives."

"We are embarked now on a great voyage, a project that no one thought in the international community that this country would have the guts to undertake, but if we are brave and if we truly commit to the logic of our mission - open, outward-looking - generous, welcoming, engaged with the world championing global free trade now when global free trade needs a global champion. I believe we can make a huge success of this venture, for Britain, for our European friends, and for the world."

"I want to stress that for the vast majority of the people of this country, we should be going about our business as usual."

"I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands. People obviously can make up their own minds but I think the scientific evidence is... our judgement is that washing your hands is the crucial thing."

"Let's get Brexit done, but first my friends let's get breakfast done."

"We have got a deal, oven-ready, by which we can leave the EU in a few weeks. It’s a great deal for this country. It delivers everything that I wanted when I campaigned for Brexit"

"I've never heard such humbug in all my life."

"Man: The NHS has been destroyed. It's been destroyed. It's been destroyed, and now you come here for a press opportunity. Boris Johnson: Well actually there's no press here. Man: [Points at camera crew] What do you mean there's no press here?"

"I've looked carefully at no deal, I've assessed its consequences, both for our country and yours, and yes, of course, we could do it, the UK could certainly get through it, but be in no doubt that the outcome would be a failure of statecraft."

"[I would] rather be dead in a ditch [than ask the EU to delay Brexit beyond 31 October]"

"I just say to everybody in the country, including everyone in Parliament, the fundamental choice is this: Are you going to side with Jeremy Corbyn and those who want to cancel the referendum? Are you going to side with those who want to scrub the democratic verdict of the people - and plunge this country into chaos. Or are you going to side with those of us who want to get on, deliver the mandate of the people and focus with absolute, laser-like precision on the domestic agenda?"

"I do think they [the EU] understand there's an opportunity to do a deal. I think it's going to be touch and go."

"[The Irish border backstop is] inconsistent with the sovereignty of the UK"

"There's a terrible kind of collaboration as it were, going on between people who think they can block Brexit in Parliament and our European friends"

"MPs should "honour the mandate of the people" by leaving the EU."

"Preparing urgently and rapidly for the possibility of an [EU] exit without a deal will be my top priority, and it will be the top priority for the civil service too."

"[The Irish border backstop would] keep us locked in EU regulatory orbit, locked in the EU trading system, unable to control our own laws"

"We want to, and we are going to, deliver on the mandate of the people, which is to take the UK out of the EU whole and entire on 31 October"

"Under no circumstances would we agree to any free-trade deal that put the NHS on the table."

"We are going to energise the country. We are going to get Brexit done on 31 October and take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring with a new spirit of can do. We are once again going to believe in ourselves, and like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self doubt and negativity."

"[I will] deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn"

"Andrew Neil: You talk about article 5B in . Boris Johnson: Article 24, get it right Andrew, it's article 24, paragraph 5B. Andrew Neil: And how would you handle paragraph 5C? Boris Johnson: I would confide entirely in paragraph 5B. Andrew Neil: But how would you get round what's in 5C? Boris Johnson: I would confide entirely in paragraph 5B which is enough for out purposes. Andrew Neil: Do you know what is in 5C? Boris Johnson: No."

"Interviewer: Can you give an example, in your political life, when you've set your own self-interest aside for the benefit of the country? Boris Johnson: Well, er, pfft, um, it's a good question, but er, I, I, I would, you know, I don't, obviously, it's an embarrassing but, but true that, um, er, it is obviously, possible, er, how should I put this, to make more money, er, by not being a full-time politician. Um, I don't, I don't want to put too finer point on it, er, but, you know, you have to, you have to, you have to, make sacrifices sometimes."

"We should actively campaign for a public understanding of the benefits of the [UK] union, economic and strategic, for the people and its component nations,"

"If you Brexit sensibly and effectively, you take away so much of the ammunition of the SNP."

"[I will take the UK out of the EU by Halloween] come what may, do or die"

"[I am] not aiming for a no-deal [Brexit] outcome"

"[The backstop is a "monstrosity" that wipes out the UK's sovereignty and is] being used to coerce the UK into becoming a vassal state of Brussels"

"I believe I am best placed to lift this party, beat Jeremy Corbyn and excite people about conservatism and conservative values."

"We need to realise the depth of the problems we face. Unless we get on and do this thing, we will be punished for a very long time. There is a very real choice between getting Brexit done and the potential extinction of this great party."

"We will not be forgiven if we do not deliver Brexit on October 31"

"[I will beat Labour and] put Nigel Farage back in his box"

"We will leave the EU on 31 October, deal or no deal. The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a no deal."

"We are being asked to vote for a customs union and a second referendum. The Bill is directly against our manifesto - and I will not vote for it. We can and must do better - and deliver what the people voted for."

"The British people won't be scared into backing a woeful Brexit deal nobody voted for"