It is a phrase credited to Winston Churchill – and the state of it has been a source of endless anxiety for a string of prime ministers. But not, it seems, for Boris Johnson. Downing Street confirmed on Monday that he is not a fan of the term “special relationship” as a way of describing the UK’s friendship with its most powerful ally. The disclosure, which came a day after Joe Biden used the phrase and three days before Johnson welcomes the US president ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall, was based on a suggestion that Johnson saw it as “needy and weak”.