DAVID Mundell is a man who knows what he wants.
He wants to maintain the Union. He wants to resign from the UK Government Cabinet (he’s still waiting for the perfect moment). And he would not serve in a government with Boris Johnson as prime minister.
But with Johnson soaring ahead in the Conservative leadership contest, Mundell was asked to remove all doubt about the latter point.
READ MORE: Three Tory candidates eliminated from leadership race
Asked if he would serve in a cabinet led by Johnson, Mundell claimed: “I’ve never said that I wouldn’t serve under a Boris Johnson government.”
Fortunately for a forgetful Mundell, the STV interviewer interrupted to remind him of comments he made to the BBC in December.
He had said: “Given my views about Mr Johnson, which are well known, that would be extremely difficult.
“Mr Johnson and I don’t agree on a whole range of issues and I don’t see myself being able to serve in that way.”
With that cleared up, Mundell was ready for further questioning.
But according to Fluffy, things weren’t so clear afterall. He claimed the comment was “not a ruling out of serving [under Johnson]”.
READ MORE: Mundell: I wouldn’t support Boris in a leadership election
Speaking with the certainty of a middle-aged man three days into a holiday who can’t quite remember if he locked the back door or not, Mundell added: “I’ve been very careful in what I’ve said in the past about that issue and I have never explicitly ruled out that.”
Not careful enough, it seems.
“I don’t think it’s for me to decide who’s in Mr Johnson’s Cabinet,” he said. “In fact it’s very, very presumptive at this stage to talk about his Cabinet …”
'I have never said I wouldn't serve in a Boris Johnson government' @DavidMundellDCT tells us, when challenged on his previous comments about the Tory leadership frontrunner.
— Representing Border (@ITVBorderRB) June 13, 2019
The Scottish Secretary today revealed he voted for Matt Hancock pic.twitter.com/ily8XmVGjz
Just to recap: it’s presumptive to talk about Johnson’s Cabinet now, but it wasn’t in December when the BBC asked. Got that? Good.
But it seems that not everyone was following Mundell’s logic. He was asked once more to clarify his previous comments on not “being able to serve” under Johnson.
“I didn’t … I did not explicitly say that I was not going … eh … to serve … and … I have been very careful not to say that.”
The Jouker looks forward to hearing the revised version of the Scottish Secretary's comments in six months' time.
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