Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged his successor to “stay close to Americans” in a parting message to the House of Commons, the lower house of British Parliament.
Johnson, who is slated to depart 10 Downing Street on Sept. 6, encouraged lawmakers to strengthen the trans-Atlantic alliance and support Ukraine in its efforts to fend off Russia’s invasion before members of the Conservative Party headed in to vote for the two finalists for his successor.
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“I want to use the last few seconds … to give some words of advice to my successor, whoever he or she may be. No. 1: Stay close to the Americans. Stick up for the Ukrainians. Stick up for freedom, for democracy everywhere,” Johnson said, according to Politico.
Johnson’s comments appeared to be a dig toward Rishi Sunak, the former British minister of the exchequer, who was leading the race to replace him going into Wednesday’s vote. Sunak has been criticized for taking a softened stance on relations with China, telling the Telegraph that he wanted a “complete sea change” in talks with Beijing. Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times has gone as far as to endorse effectively Sunak as its favored candidate.
Sunak is facing Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to be the next leader after Penny Mordaunt, a junior trade minister, received the least support in the fifth round of voting and was eliminated from the contest.
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Johnson concluded by declaring his mission “largely accomplished,” ending with “hasta la vista, baby,” a catchphrase often associated with the movie Terminator 2.
