Boris Johnson took some stick for sticking to code of silence on US election

Elections in friendly countries abroad are a diplomatic minefield for governments, writes Andrew Woodcock

Boris Johnson meets Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Biarritz in 2019 (PA)

For days after polls closed in the US presidential election, one issue dominated conversations around the globe. Who’s going to win? What will Trump do? What does it mean for the world?

Only one voice was absent from the debate – that of Boris Johnson and the British government.

The Johnson administration’s vow of silence extended to the ridiculous extreme that Downing Street refused even to say whether, in principle, the prime minister felt that in democratic elections generally all votes should be counted.