The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended his decision to fly to Greece via Bulgaria in order to “COVID-proof” his property there before he potentially rents it out.
With a towel draped over his shoulder, Stanley Johnson told reporters outside his villa on Mount Pelion that he wasn’t “100% up to speed” with the British public’s reaction since he went to Greece for “a quiet time, to organise the house.”
“I’ve just got one week to get everything organised. I’ve got a whole lot of instructions about how to make the place COVID-proof,” Mr Johnson added, noting he planned to return to the UK on July 10.
The trip has met with criticism for having violated, at the very least, the spirit of Greece’s coronavirus restrictions as well as the current travel guidance in the UK.
The Greek government, which has been lauded for the country’s comparatively low number of confirmed coronavirus cases and eager to salvage the summer tourist season, extended its ban on flights from the UK until July 15 amid concerns over Britain’s still-high infection rates.
Many also think that the elder Johnson’s trip to Greece via the Bulgarian capital of Sofia went against the overarching advice of Britain’s Foreign Office, which currently recommends avoiding ”all but essential” travel.
“All I can say is that it’s always a great joy to me, it’s such a great joy to me to arrive in Greece,” Mr Johnson concluded.
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