The Prime Minister mocked the continent’s two rival countries for failing to keep up with Team GB’s success in the Olympic and Paralympic games since 2012. Gently teasing, he even suggested that the couple be allowed to participate in the commonwealth games along with the rest of the EU.
Mr Johnson told the Commonwealth Business Forum in Birmingham: “Don’t ever forget that since London 2012 – I think I’m right about this, I haven’t checked the statistics but it’s too good to check – this country is on or near the top of the global medal table Isn’t it I think so.
“A great achievement for a country that represents only 0.87 percent of the world’s population.
“I think we have consistently beaten France.
“Each time we have consistently beaten Germany.”
The Commonwealth is made up of 56 different countries, the vast majority of which used to form the British Empire, and is home to 2.5 billion people around the world.
Over the next 11 days, more than 5,000 athletes will compete in 280 events across 19 sports.
The Games open today and will be the UK’s largest sports festival since the London Olympics a decade ago.
The UK has coughed up £778 million to pay to host the games, but Johnson said he was confident the legacy would be worth the investment.
“People are saying can we afford it? Should we have done it with the cost of living pressure? Will there be a legacy of the £778 million of taxpayers’ money put into these Games?” he said.
“And now I want you to know that I’m here to tell you that I have every confidence that the answer to that question is yes.
“A thousand times, yes. I say it because, almost exactly 10 years ago, I remember an identical moment of nerves just before the start of the 2012 London Games.”
He said the legacy of the Olympics in the capital continues to provide “thousands of jobs, growth, regeneration” to this day.