Welcome to E-Conversation, the regular podcast of E-Sharp magazine. Go to E-Shawt.U for free access to all our podcasts to date.

This is Paul Adamson and I'm in conversation with Jeff Mead. Jeff Mead is the former Europe editor of the Press Association.

Jeff, we're going to talk about Boris Johnson, the UK's new prime minister, but from the perspective

of his early career, going back 30 years now, as a journalist in Brussels, you'd already been

running the Brussels office at the Press Association of about 10 years when he turned up.

So what were your first impression of Boris Johnson, the journalist?

Well, it's true, sir, it was a very first impression, literally his first footfall on

Belgian soil as a journalist, because father Stanley, then a EuroMP, of course, had invited my wife

and I for lunch that Sunday and without saying why.

I mean, in fact, why would he just invited us for lunch?

When we got there, halfway through lunch, there was the sound of a car on the gravel drive.

And out stepped Boris in the most bizarre sort of Bermuda shorts would be kind.

I mean, there were baggy shorts.

It must have been summer, I can't remember. The ones are you going to jogging in now. Yes, aermuda shorts would be kind. I mean, there were baggy shorts. It must have been summer, I can't remember.

The ones are you going to jogging in that.

Yes, exactly, exactly looking like that.

So that's what he looked like.

So that's the image I had as he stepped out of the car,

and he joined us for lunch.

And I thought, oh, that's very interesting.

Stanley's sons arrived to join us. He's obviously spending the weekend here or something. And as the conversation went on a little bit, it dawned on me that Boris was here to work.

And fun enough, the press call had been wondering who would replace the Daily Telegraph Corresponding,

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