Boris Johnson's new deputy Alan Duncan called him 'Silvio Borisconi' just two weeks ago

MP was speaking out against the Foreign Secretary's potential leadership bid

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson addresses staff inside the Foreign Office in London (PA)

Boris Johnson’s new foreign office deputy mocked him as “Silvio Borisconi” just a few weeks before his appointment.

The new Minister of State for the Foreign Office, Sir Alan Duncan, compared his new boss to the “theatrical and comical antics” of the eccentric former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, in a speech to the House of Commons.

He was urging his Conservative colleagues not to elect Mr Johnson as leader during the first Prime Minister's Questions after the EU referendum.

The MP, who backed the Remain side during the referendum, asked David Cameron: “From his experience as Prime Minister on how, in terms of their countries’ reputation and success, he would compare the undemonstrative, competence and dignity of Angela Merkel with the theatrical and comical antics of Silvio Borisconi?”

Mr Johnson did not enter the race to become Conservative party leader after his former ally Michael Gove launched a surprise bid for the job on the day the ex-London mayor was due to announce his candidacy.

Sir Alan is seen as a key ally of Prime Minister Theresa May, prompting speculation he was appointed to keep an eye on Mr Johnson.


 Sir Alan Duncan compared Boris Johnson to Silvio Berlusconi (Getty Images)
 (Getty)

Mr Johnson has had an eventful first few days as Britain’s top diplomat with the terror attack in Nice and the attempted coup in Turkey.

Eyebrows were raised across the world on his appointment as the former journalist had a reputation for undiplomatic comments including writing a poem accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of having sex with goats which won £1,000 in a Spectator competition.

In a column for the Sunday Telegraph, he insisted Brexit did not mean the UK’s withdrawal from the world but instead the country would be “more outward-looking, more engaged and more active on the world stage than ever before”.

He reiterated earlier comments that Britain was leaving the EU, not Europe, and said “We will remain key players in all kinds of intergovernmental cooperation with our European friends and partners.

“It gives us a chance not just to do new trade deals, but to think of ourselves once again as a truly global Britain using our unique voice – humane, compassionate, principled – to do good around the world, and to exploit growth markets to the full.”