Tory MP ‘so p****d’ he couldn’t remember phone call with Boris Johnson, wife says

Johnny Mercer had spent afternoon watching FA Cup and Six Nations contests, according to his partner

A Tory MP was “so p****d” following an afternoon watching sport he “couldn’t remember what was said” when Boris Johnson called him on the phone, according to his wife.

Felicity Cornelius-Mercer shared a photo on social media on Saturday of her husband, Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, sitting on a sofa with his head thrown back, apparently in a deep sleep.

She said the prime minister had called Mr Mercer after he had spent the day following his local side Plymouth Argyle’s narrow defeat to Premier League side Chelsea and England’s rugby team loss to Scotland in the Six Nations.

“So..funny story…the Prime Minister rang tonight directly after an afternoon of FA Cup football and England rugby..and @JohnnyMercerUK was so p****d he can’t remember what was said,” Ms Cornelius-Mercer wrote.

She joked that she was thinking of “winding him up” the next day, and asked her Twitter followers for suggestions of what to tell him he had discussed with the PM.

Some people suggested that she should tell her husband he had agreed to do an early-morning round of media interviews.

“BBC 0800, Sky News 0830, and ITV at 0900. And don’t forget what I’ve told you to say…”#YesPrimeMinister

— Simon McCoy (@SimonMcCoyTV) February 5, 2022

Tell him he agreed to do the media round tomorrrow

— Martin🇪🇺 (@mb230616) February 5, 2022

Others suggested she say that Mr Johnson offered him a new job, whether in Downing Street or his Cabinet.

He starts his new job in No 10 tomorrow.

— Nicholas Jackson EU citizen 🔶⬛ (@npjackson123) February 5, 2022

Tell him he accepted the position of temporary Chief of Staff and he’s got to meet Nadine Dorries at a Toby Carvery for lunch to ask her nicely not to do any more media appearances.

— Ali Hughes (@AliAliAfro) February 5, 2022

Tell him he's chancellor!

— Donnchadh Morgan (@gutenmorgan) February 5, 2022

Earlier in the evening, Mr Mercer quote-tweeted Plymouth Argyle’s tweet about the match and wrote: “Heartbreak. So proud – of fans and team.”

A number of crises have embroiled the prime minister recently, but Mr Mercer has not said whether he would submit a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson or not, according to PlymouthLive.

When asked by the local news outlet if he had plans to submit a letter of no confidence, Mr Mercer said he would not comment– and when asked why he would not comment, he replied: “Ha Ha.”