Barry Soper: ZB senior political correspondent on his second meeting with Boris Johnson

Barry Soper met with Boris Johnson again - hours after delivering a 'critical' summary of his first meeting with the former Prime Minister.

Soper met with Johnson over lunch again earlier today, and Johnson was quick to bring up yesterday's radio recap.

"If you're listening at the moment, Boris, you're not a bad bugger. He was pretty good - today's lunch was hosted by General Finance, it was around a table and it really was just a yarn."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's still tob it is now thirty minutes to face.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
It was stunned into silence as I walked into the studio.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is true.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
I couldn't believe.

Speaker 1 (00:06):
I thought there might be some wishing, big show business
thing to herold the arrival of the man who has
had not one but two lunches with Boris Johnson. And
this despite what you said about him yesterday.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Well, yes, I was quite critical of Boris. Heyes today
and when I met him today over lunch, when he
was introduced to me, he said, oh, you're you're the man.
You're the man I heard on radio yesterday talking about me.
He said, people have said worse things about me, So
I thought, well yeah. And he went on around lunch

(00:38):
and it's Chatham House rules, you can't say exactly what
was said. But he did defend free speech, hates woke asm,
defended free speech and said that anybody's got an entitlement
to say anything they want about anything. But I found
it absolutely curious that a former Prime Minister of Britain
would bother tuning in to radio to see what people

(01:02):
were saying about him. So if you're listening at the moment,
Boris you're not a bad buggers. He was pretty good.
Today's lunch was hosted by General Finances around a table
and was really just a yarms how many people are
fifteen to twenty other?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Okay, So this is a much bit of a different
environment to the big public one last where people bought
their ticket. This one was invitees. So did this mean
there was a different Boris that was on show, perhaps
even more unfettered.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, he was very different. I mean yesterday what I
didn't like about it was I said it was like
watching a Mowhea Jersey being unraveled because he did it
and through the speech. But it's part of the whole
persona of Boris Johnson. I mean I said yesterday that
Whinston Peters cracked a great joke saying he looked as

(01:54):
tho I had just fallen out of a shower and
used the towel as his hair brush, and that's what
he did. But that's part of the brand of Boris Johnson.
And I've got to say now having sat down and
talked to the man, I really enjoyed his company. He's
a journo, so he remembers, you know, the media, and
in fact I had an interview, as I said to him,

(02:16):
at the Daily Telegraph, for he was at one stage
a reporter on it, and I said, I was interviewed
by a man that was a field marshal. Remember that's
really old funny, don't you so? Yeah, No, he's very entertaining,
has very clever. He talked a lot about Ukraine and

(02:37):
it was a good backgrounder if you wanted that.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
But a massive amount of institutional knowledge from all sides
of the fence. So obviously very entertaining. Let's get into
some serious So Asha Vero makes an accusation and a
select committee Jimmy Markroff gets her niggers in the night
about it. She says that Lester Levy cooked the books.
Now this was covered by privilege, but she since said
that outside.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Well, yes, there's limited privilege when it comes to a
parliamentary select committee anyway, but because the members of the public,
they appear before the privilegeous committee. But Aischaverral, she was
asked whether they are named by Lester Levy produced a
deficit that looked like it was worse than it actually was,

(03:19):
and she said he had three recorded, three former district
health boards. She said, where He claimed that the produced
surpluses were great and then they turned into deficits when
he left. Verell said that that was the state of

(03:39):
New Zealand's health system and in fact it was used
by this government to effect big cuts there. But this
is how the exchange unfolded the Select Committee today, given
your reputation for cooking the books, did any minister order, I.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
Don't think that's a appropriate to attack in that manner.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
There were no deficits while I was there. The deficits
that occurred when I left is when and the record
will show this. Anyone can go have a look at
that were when provisions first started to be made for
Holiday Act. So that is incorrect. I will provide that information,
and on the provision of that information, I would preferably

(04:23):
like to have an apology for that.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
So I can understand why, of course, of course, and
that's I can understand that excuse as well, because the
Holiday Acts and provisions for extra stuff and the pay
changes has blown all the budgets all.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Over the place and it came into effect after he
did that. So yeah, I mean he has a good argument.
And look, the thing is that this man's integrity is
without question. I mean, he's a very renowned professor and
he's an expert, so you know, to malign him in
that way before a select committee, I think is a
bit rich.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
I do you think she should give him an apology?

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Absolutely? Okay, well it's when she sees the evidence, and
no doubt we'll all go digging for the evidence now
and when we see it, of course he deserves an apologies.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
She's here at five point thirty today on this radio
shape and maybe she'll do it that you get it there.
I reckon, I reckon now very quickly. We only have
a minute. Apparently Christmas parties in Wellington.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
The Gritch has stolen Christmas absolutely in Wellington. And you
know it has been tough for the public service, let's
face it. But the biggest, one of the biggest ministries
are mb They've told staff, they told them last month
that they won't be providing any subsidies for an end
of the year function workers the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Development. They are also going without any Christmas chair

(05:41):
this year. Customs they're not arranging to fund a party,
Crown Start, Crown Law stuff. They can pay for their
own byo when they get along to the Christmas party,
and I inquired as to whether we're going to have
an end of the year party, Andrew, and you'll be
pleased to know we are. I know we're not a

(06:02):
public service.

Speaker 1 (06:03):
I know exactly right. Well, I've got I've got family
in public service. And then in local government they haven't
had paid for parties in years and they are still
having parties. They pay for it for them themselves, you know.
And the managers in local government are all taking the
key staff out for dinner and they're all lunch and
they're paying for it themselves, you know, because that's just

(06:24):
the way it is. Yes, thank you so very very much.
It's News Talks.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
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