Johnson is believed to be in Greece with his family, despite having just three weeks left in the job amid accusations he is leading a “zombie” government. In his absence, two large moving vans appeared in Downing Street on Monday, fueling expectations that he is likely to spend a little more time in No 10. The prime minister is entitled to furniture and fittings he paid for to refurbish No 11 flat, theoretically including gold tapestry Lulu Lytle originally funded by a Tory donor. Brandon Lewis, a senior Conservative MP, defended the prime minister’s decision to take a second holiday after his first break in Slovenia. “Even when you’re not in the Downing Street office, you’re working,” Brandon Lewis, who was Northern Ireland secretary before resigning last month, told LBC. But Johnson’s official spokesman clarified that he would not be doing routine work as he was “on leave” and would only be contacted if there were “urgent decisions” to be made. “As with prime ministers, as you know, because of their role, they will obviously be briefed on any urgent matters and make decisions, particularly those (related to) national security for example,” he said. “If there were urgent decisions that required the prime minister’s input, of course he would be involved in that.” He said there were no major meetings scheduled for this week that would require Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, to be deputized. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. No 10 is not commenting on the prime minister’s exact whereabouts, but has been spotted with his wife, Kari, at a supermarket in Nea Makri, a town east of Athens. A week ago, Johnson returned from another vacation, in Slovenia. While Johnson’s tenured role while his successor is chosen limits his scope for new policy, he has been accused of leading a zombie government and spending his final weeks in office relaxing. When not abroad, Johnson spent time at Chequers, the country’s prime ministerial retreat, and he and Carrie threw a belated wedding party at the Cotswolds home of JCB owner Anthony Bamford, a major Conservative donor . Asked on LBC if the Prime Minister had “thrown in the towel”, Lewis dismissed the characterization. “He’s probably in his second week [of] holidays in the last year or so, definitely this year,” Lewis said. “So as long as someone is absent, be it the foreign minister or let alone the prime minister, he will continue to work. “I can assure you that he will continue to go through the inbox, he will continue to deal with national security issues where appropriate. Being out of the country does not mean that the prime minister stops working.” Unveiling Labor’s plan on Monday to help households this winter by stopping any rise in the energy price cap, which will be partly funded by a wider tax windfall, Keir Starmer called Johnson a “lame duck”, saying the Liz who hopes to succeed him. Truss and Rishi Sunak were just “fighting” instead of presenting a plan of action. A Labor spokesman said: “On the evidence of the past few months, it seems to make little difference whether the Prime Minister is in office or on holiday as he has consistently failed to meet the challenge of the Tories’ cost of living crisis. It’s all one big party for Boris Johnson while the country struggles to pay its bills.”
