Boris Johnson foreign secretary appointment divides opinion, poll finds

The appointment of Boris Johnson to the role of Foreign Secretary is viewed as highly controversial among the public, a poll has found.

The survey, by pollsters BMG, found that 47 per cent of people are not confident that Mr Johnson will perform well in his role as Foreign Secretary.

This compares to 44 per cent who feel that he will – a marked split of opinion amongst the public.

Mr Johnson has not exactly exuded competence since his appointment – with a string of negative stories emerging in the first few weeks.

At a press conference in July he appeared to mix up Turkey and Egypt, while he was also ridiculed for his plane running into problems on the way to meetings in Brussels, after being jeered at the French embassy.

In one excruciatingly awkward press conference with US secretary of state John Kerry Mr Johnson was forced to bat away suggestions from journalists that he had “an unusually long history of wild exaggerations and, frankly, outright lies”.

Another awkward encounter involved him meeting his French counterpart, who only weeks earlier had called him a liar.

The Prime Minister was also put on the spot at Prime Minister’s Questions over her Foreign Secretary’s previous recorded use of racial epithets.

In other instances the new Foreign Secretary has impressed, however – speaking fluent French at a press conference with his counterpart in France.

Mr Johnson's appointment attracted international media interest because of his higher global profile gained during the referendum campaign and his tenure as mayor of London