Brexit win may have cost ‘Teflon politician’ Boris Johnson the job he coveted

Boris Johnson long seemed to be a “Teflon politician”, walking unscathed from gaffes and mishaps that might have destroyed a more conventional man’s career.

Ironically, it was his greatest political achievement which fatally undermined his long-held ambition of leading his party and the country.

His sombre demeanour at the press conference called to declare victory in the EU referendum tipped some Westminster observers to think that perhaps the former mayor was realising that Brexit might not be the stepping stone to Number 10 that some assumed.