Boris Johnson has stood by his claim that outgoing US president Donald Trump deserved to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
The prime minister was questioned about his comments from 2018 at meeting of parliament’s liaison committee on Wednesday.
It comes as politicians who sided with Mr Trump face questions after he tried to overturn the result of the US election and his supporters stormed the US capitol.
Asked about his praise for Mr Trump and suggestion that he should be rewarded for his work in office, Mr Johnson said: “I am in favour of the prime minister of the UK having the best possible relationship with the president of the United States and I had an excellent conversation very recently with president-elect Joe Biden.”
In 2018 while he was foreign secretary Mr Johnson gave an interview in which he praised Mr Trump’s work on the issues of North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal.
“If Trump can fix North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal then I don’t see why he’s any less of a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama,” he told Sky News.
Mr Johnson went on to say: “I don’t see why he’s any less of a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama who got it before he even did anything.”
The prime minister and Mr Trump regularly exchange compliments during the pair’s overlapping tenure, with Mr Trump said Mr Johnson was “doing very well”.
That comment came hours after the UK Supreme Court ruled that Mr Johnson’s then suspension of parliament had been unlawful.
But last week Mr Johnson condemned the “disgraceful scenes” at the US capitol.
The next day the prime minister went on to say it was “completely wrong” to cast doubt on the US election and encourage supporters to storm the seat of government.
This article was amended on January 27, 2021, to include more details about Mr Johnson’s original comment in 2018.
