‘Wonderfully inane’: the art critic’s view on Boris Johnson’s first photos

The PM seems to be trying to channel Winston Churchill and Barack Obama in his behind-the-scenes pictures. Surely the next step is the Vladimir Putin school of power imagery

Hands in pockets as he pauses on the stairs at Admiralty House before going to see the Queen, Boris Johnson looks at once conscious of the weight of history and boyishly proud. However, while “Action this day” was the wartime slogan of Johnson’s hero, Winston Churchill, the first behind-the-scenes photographs of the new PM by Andrew Parsons, which have been splashed by several newspapers, show that an appropriate motto for Johnson is “Bullshit this day”.

If he isn’t announcing a new railway, he is to be seen thoughtfully staring at three laptops or talking intently with some men and a woman. And yet, like Churchill, he must be seen to be relaxed under pressure. In one photograph, he has put his feet up for a minute and we get a good view of the worn soles of his shoes – still the scruff at heart etc.

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