BoJo's Wife Says She Was Targeted by PM's 'Enemies' Amid Ashcroft Book Claims

In the upcoming book "First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson" written by Lord Michael Ashcroft, the author claims that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is heavily influenced by his wife when it comes to key appointments and policy-making.

A spokesperson for Carrie Johnson has told Sky News that the UK prime minister's wife "yet again has been targeted by a brutal briefing campaign against her by enemies of her husband".

The comments were made in light of the recent publication of extracts from a new book by Tory peer Lord Michael Ashcroft titled "First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson" and set to be released in late March. The book asserts that the PM is heavily influenced and "mesmerised" by his 33-year-old wife when it comes to key appointments and policy-making.

Carrie Johnson's spokesperson slammed the book as "just the latest attempt by bitter ex-officials to discredit" the PM's wife, adding that "she is a private individual who plays no role in government".

The remarks came after Lord Ashcroft wrote in the Daily Mail that his book "suggests" that Carrie Johnson's behaviour "is preventing" the British prime minister from "leading Britain as effectively as the voters deserve".

"Only a fraction of the book has been published so far. Taken as a whole, it is fair, objective, and meticulously researched", the author argued.

Downing Street was quick to react by rejecting the book's claims as untrue, while Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries asserted that the allegations had been made "by vengeful and mendacious men who were once employees in No 10 and is an insight into their warped minds".

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, for his part, denied that Carrie Johnson has "undue" influence at Number 10, adding though it was clear that she had "political views".

"Carrie is a really strong supporter of the prime minister. She has political views, like many people, and she's allowed to have those views", the cabinet minister told Times Radio.

The Sun, in turn, cited an unnamed source as dubbing the book "a misogynistic attack on someone who isn't able to fight back" and "just a way of damaging the PM by attacking her [Carrie Johnson]".

"This is the mother of Boris' children. I find this whole episode tawdry and despicable", the source added.

Another insider told The Sun that "to say Carrie is running the country is almost laughable — if it wasn't so serious. It's nothing but a hit job".

The book refers to a host of scandals in which the PM's wife was involved, including claims that she wanted the luxury redecoration of the couple's official flat and that she purportedly influenced the decision about the evacuation of animals from the Nowzad charity from Kabul, something that was denied by Downing Street.

Carrie Johnson also reportedly attended a few social gatherings at Downing Street in June and November 2020 amid coronavirus lockdowns, part of the current "partygate" probe being conducted by the Met Police.

Extracts from Lord Ashcroft's book have been published as Boris Johnson is under pressure to step down over the "partygate" scandal after the recently released report by senior civil servant Sue Gray found "failures of leadership and judgment" and evidence of "excessive consumption of alcohol" during parties at Number 10 in 2020 and 2021.