[WATCH] Boris Johnson in Malta for talks, avoids press

Boris Johnson Malta Visit

The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary Boris Johnson was in Malta this afternoon for talks with foreign minister George Vella.

The talks – which were held at the foreign affairs ministry and lasted for around an hour – focused on Brexit and bilateral relations between Malta and the UK in the context of Malta’s upcoming presidency of the EU.

As the two ministers posed for photos ahead of the talks, Vella could be overheard telling his counterpart “Let’s have a handshake and get rid off these people”, referring to the press.

Johnson opened the talks with a jovial tone, saying that he often looks at Vella’s speaking notes during EU Council meetings, as he “finds them very useful”. He added that Malta and the UK have a shared history and “lots of things in common”.

In an earlier tweet, Johnson -who spearheaded this year's successful campaign for the UK to leave the EU - said that he plans to visit five European capitals over the next 48 hours "to reinforce the UK's ambition to strengthen relations with European partners".

Journalists gathered outside the ministry afterwards in an attempt to quiz Johnson on the election of Donald Trump as US president, but the foreign secretary ignored them and made a beeline for his car.