Boris Johnson really is a Maverick! Outgoing Prime Minister looks like Tom Cruise’s Top Gun character as he climbs into the cockpit of RAF Typhoon jet
- Boris Johnson strode into action on a visit to RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire
- He appeared to ape the style of Tom Cruise’s iconic role of Maverick in Top Gun
- The outgoing PM got into full RAF uniform and stepped into the pilot’s cockpit
- The humorous photo session was a world away from the Tory leadership battle
Boris Johnson has always counted himself as something of a maverick politician…
So it may come as no surprise the soon-to-be-out Prime Minister aped Tom Cruise’s iconic role of Maverick in Top Gun as he stepped into the cockpit of RAF Coningsby on Thursday.
The Prime Minister donned full RAF uniform as he met with pilots and air crews at the military site in Lincolnshire to be given a demonstration of the Typhoon fighter jet.
Two frontline, combat-ready squadrons are stationed at the base, which also serves as the training ground for Typhoon pilots.
Boris Johnson looked a dead ringer for Tom Cruise’s iconic role in Top Gun as he strode into action at RAF Coningsby on Thursday
The outgoing PM cut a serious figure as he posed for pictures inside the cockpit, dressed in full RAF uniform
The PM (pictured right) visited the military site in Lincolnshire to be given a demonstration of the Typhoon fighter jet
While at the base, Mr Johnson received a backstage look at the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Station which protects UK airspace, The Telegraph reports.
Users on social media were quick to poke fun at the PM’s heroic posturing.
Bruce Henderson tweeted: ‘Maybe Boris Johnson thinks he is Tom Cruise! Can we get him to jump between helicopters in flight?’
Chief political commentator at The Independent, John Rentoul posted: ‘Might as well enjoy it on the way out.’
To the outgoing PM, the RAF visit must have seemed a world away from the battle among five Conservative MPs to succeed him.
In a combative performance in the first televised debate of the contest last night, former chancellor Rishi Sunak rounded on his rivals saying proposals to raise borrowing to pay for tax cuts were a ‘fairytale’.
Mr Sunak topped the voting in the first two ballots of Tory MPs but polling has suggested he would struggle against either of his main rivals – Foreign Secretary Ms Truss or trade minister Penny Mordaunt – in a final run-off vote of the entire party membership.
While at the base, Mr Johnson received a backstage look at the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Station which protects UK airspace
The character of Maverick was made famous by actor Tom Cruise in the films Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
He insisted however that he remained the candidate who was best equipped to take on Labour and win in a general election.
‘I am going to continue making the positive case for my candidacy and I believe I am the best possible person to help our party defeat Keir Starmer and defeat the Labour Party in a general election,’ the Richmond MP said.
Following the televised showdown on Channel 4, Mr Sunak’s campaign team claimed that he had ‘unambiguously won’ the debate.
A snap poll of 1,159 viewers by pollsters Opinium put him in second place, with 24 per cent saying he had been the strongest performer, behind Tom Tugendhat – seen as the outsider in the contest – on 36 per cent.
Ms Mordaunt, the international trade minister, tied with former equalities minister Kemi Baden for third place on 12 per cent, while Ms Truss, the Foreign Secretary, trailed in fifth with just 7 per cent.
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