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Boris Johnson sings Gloria Gaynor's “I will survive”, as he hires his new director of communications

Gutto Harri was a media strategist when Boris Johnson was Mayor of London and a committed Remainer who has criticized the Prime Minister's political style

Cardiff-born Guto Harri, who was appointed as 10 Downing's new communications director, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson sang Gloria Gaynor's hit “I will survive” during the meeting in which he was hired.

His predecessor in the job, Jack Doyle was one of the four staff to quit Johnson's team last week.

According to Walesonline, Harri was a media strategist when Boris Johnson was Mayor of London and a committed Remainer who has criticized the Prime Minister's political style.

Previously he was the BBC's chief political correspondent and returned to broadcasting in 2018, working for S4C. Between working for Mr Johnson and for GB News, he became director of communications for News UK in 2012 following the fallout from the phone-hacking scandal.

Last year he quit GB News following a row over him taking the knee on air during a debate about racism directed at England football players.

In an interview with Golwg360, a Welsh magazine Harri said: “I went in to see the Prime Minister at 5pm on Friday after filming [S4C show] Y Byd yn ei Le in Barry, and I went through the Cabinet Office in Whitehall to avoid being seen....”

“I walked in and did a salute and said ' Prime Minister, Guto Harri reporting for duty' and he stood up from behind his desk and started taking the salute but then he said 'What am I doing, I should take the knee for you'.

“And we both laughed. Then I asked ' Are you going to survive Boris? 'And he said in his deep, slow and purposeful voice and started to sing a little while finishing the sentence and saying 'I Will Survive'.

”I inevitably invited him to say 'You've got all your life to live' and he replied, 'I've got all my love to give', so we had a little blast from Gloria Gaynor. No one expects that, but that's how it was.

“There was a lot of laughter and we sat down to have a serious conversation about how to get the Government back on track and how we are moving forward,” he said.

“Everyone's attention is on recent events that have caused a lot of hurt, but in the end, that's nothing to do with the way people voted two years ago. He's not all that clownish, but he's a very likeable character.

”90% of our discussion was very serious but it shows that he is a character and has fun. He is not a vicious man as some misrepresent him.“

Harri says the Prime Minister insists he is aware of the challenges ahead.

”By bringing in new people, and reorganizing the system at Number 10 and bringing in pragmatic, more experienced and perhaps less ideological professionals, how can we help him and his cabinet now focused on delivery, ”he said.

“Making Brexit a success, bringing us out of the pandemic and all the problems that the pandemic has caused, making sure Levelling up means something meaningful. He talks about these things relentlessly, of course he does.

”He is aware of the appalling misery that all the talk about these 10 Downing parties has created, and has shaken people's trust in Government and politics in general, and there are questions about his ability to continue as Prime Minister.

“He has to persuade his party and people on the ground that he is holding the man who got a comfortable majority as recently as two years ago.”

He will no longer present Welsh language program Y Byd yn ei Lle and has quit lobbying firm Hawthorn Advisers.

“It is clear to me that as someone with the respect for public service broadcasting, current affairs programming needs to flourish,” he said. ”But I have been offered a position right at the heart of one of the great states of the world working directly and directly accountable to the Prime Minister.