Boris Johnson Reviving Britain's Standing on the World Stage by Con Coughlin  •  July 27, 2019 at 5:00 am         Mr Johnson's determination to help Britain reclaim its status as a leading world power after the drift of the May years is reflected in the stature of his appointments, especially regarding Britain's engagement with the outside world. In one of Mrs May's last acts as prime minister, Britain declined an offer of American military support to protect British shipping in the Gulf, resulting in Iran's Revolutionary Guard hijacking a British-registered oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and holding it captive in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. Thus, with politicians of this calibre occupying key positions in the new British government, Mr Johnson now has a golden opportunity to revive Britain's standing on the world stage, one where the close relationship between Washington and London will be one of the pillars of Britain's dynamic new approach. The appointment of Boris Johnson as Britain's new prime minister offers the serious prospect of a radical improvement in the bilateral ties between Washington and London. Pictured: Johnson enters Number 10 Downing Street on July 24, 2019, his first day in office as prime minister. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) The appointment of Boris Johnson as Britain's new prime minister offers the serious prospect of a radical improvement in the bilateral ties between Washington and London following the froideur [chill] that came to define the transatlantic relationship under the outgoing prime minister, Theresa May. While, in public, Mrs May offered loyal pledges of support to Donald Trump, and professed to enjoy a warm personal relationship with the American president, the reality was that the personal chemistry between the two leaders was often awkward, with Mrs May often failing to grasp Mr Trump's radical approach to global affairs. Continue Reading Article