‘It was our mother’s funeral’ Gina Miller silenced by Boris Johnson’s sister after PM jibe
DOGGED anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown after goading Boris Johnson for going Awol - on the day the Prime Minister attended his mother's funeral.
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And to compound matters, businesswoman Mrs Miller’s unfortunate blunder came on the same day she launched her new political party, True & Fair. Arch-Remainer Mrs Miller - who successfully challenged the Government in court over its attempt to implement Brexit without approval from Parliament - is currently focused on forging a political career.
To that end, with the Conservative Party conference due to start next week, she yesterday targeted Mr Johnson over a succession of crises that have enveloped his Government in recent days.
The 56-year-old tweeted: “In the midst of #fuelshortages people desperately worried about rising cost of living/eating/heating, empty shelves - anyone seen @BorisJohnson?”
However, Mr Johnson’s sister Rachel was quick to respond, replying: “It was our mother’s funeral yesterday Gina.”
Launch day for Gina Miller’s new party went well then
Mrs Miller replied: “My sincere condolences.”
James Heale, the Diary Editor of The Spectator, shared a screengrab of the exchange, commenting: “Launch day for Gina Miller’s new party went well then.”
Replying to Mr Heale’s tweet, Timothy Nerozzi posted: “Hard to think of a more powerful foot-in-mouth moment from recent memory.”
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Louise Atkins added: “Awkward.”
Meanwhile, responding to Mrs Miller’s post, Debra Dommen said: “No fan of Boris Johnson but in my opinion not a time to be critical.
“He is grieving the loss of his mother and we all need to understand and empathise with his situation.”
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Mrs Miller’s new political venture is to be assessed by the Electoral Commission, from which she is now awaiting approval.
In a statement issued yesterday, she said: "This Government needs to be held to account.
"Voters deserve better than the current politics of incompetence and self-interest."
The party is separate from her True and Fair Campaign, launched nine years ago to improve transparency, governance, consumer protection and conduct in the UK financial services sector.
Mrs Miller subsequently tweeted: “Once the @ElectoralCommUK grants our application, we very much looking forward to setting out our stall.”
Charlotte Maria Offlow Johnson Wahl died on September 13 at the age of 79.
She is also the mother of Mr Johnson’s brother, former Tory minister Jo Johnson.
She and Mr Johnson’s father Stanley were married from 1963 to 1979.
In 1988 she married American historian Nicolas Wahl, who died of cancer eight years later.
Express.co.uk has contacted Mrs Miller via the True and Fair Campaign for comment.