December 17, 2019
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has banned ministers from attending the World Economic Forum for the global elite in Davos next month, according to a Downing Street source.
After leading his Conservative party last week to its biggest election win since Margaret Thatcher’s landslide victory of 1987, Johnson pledged to run a “people’s government” that would deliver Brexit and repay the trust placed in him by voters in former strongholds of his Labour opponents.
“Our focus is on delivering for the people, not champagne with billionaires,” the source said on Tuesday, referring to the annual gathering in the Swiss ski resort of politicians, business leaders and celebrities.
The move echoes U.S. President Donald Trump, who banned senior officials from attending Davos in 2017 shortly after he took office. The 2020 event will be held from Jan. 21 to 24.
(Reporting by William James, writing by James Davey, Editing by William Maclean)
