Boris Johnson: Downing Street distances itself from Foreign Secretary's Saudi Arabia comments
Video report by ITV News Deputy Political Editor Chris Ship
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been rebuked by Downing Street over his claim that British ally Saudi Arabia has been "playing proxy wars" in the Middle East.
Theresa May's official spokeswoman told reporters his comments at a conference in Italy were his personal view and did not reflect Government policy.
And she pointedly noted that Mr Johnson will have the opportunity to set out official policy - of Britain's desire to strengthen its ties with Saudi Arabia and support for its military involvement in Yemen - when he travels to the desert kingdom for talks on Sunday.
The Foreign Secretary was filmed making the off-message comments while addressing a conference in Rome last week, also accusing Saudi Arabia of "puppeteering" in the Middle East.
In the footage, published by The Guardian, he talked during a Q&A session of politicians "twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same religion" to further their political aims.
Mr Johnson told the Med 2 conference there were not enough "big characters" in the region who were willing to "reach out beyond their Sunni or Shia" group.
He told the conference: "That's why you've got the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and puppeteering and playing proxy wars."
Addressing the comments, Mrs May's spokeswoman distanced the Prime Minister and Government from his statements.
Asked whether Mr Johnson was expected to apologise to the Saudi regime on Sunday, the spokeswoman said: "He will have meetings with senior representatives in Saudi Arabia and he will have the opportunity to set out the Government's position."
She declined to confirm whether Mrs May had spoken to Mr Johnson since his comments became public, saying only that they speak "regularly".
But she played down the overall issue, saying: "The Prime Minister has full confidence in the Foreign Secretary."
The comments emerge at an awkward time with Prime Minister Theresa May arriving back from a visit to the Gulf.
She attended a dinner with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Mr Johnson directly cited a lack of strong leadership in the region during his conference appearance as he responded to a question from the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Secretary confirmed to ITV News that Mr Johnson had expressed his strong support for Saudi Arabia during a weekend TV interview.
"As the foreign secretary made very clear on Sunday, we are allies with Saudi Arabia and support them in their efforts to secure their borders and protect their people. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong and misinterpreting the facts,” the spokesperson said.