Comedian Russell Howard has said that he would not trust Boris Johnson with a BBQ – let alone Brexit.

The British TV comic, 39, joked that the Prime Minister would burn the meat and fall “asleep in a canoe full of strawberries”.

He added that while it was “funny to poke fun at” the Prime Minister, the odds of him actually delivering on his promise to take Britain out of the European Union were “unlikely”.

Free school places
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Toby Melville/PA)

The stand-up is raising money for the Kiyan Prince Foundation, which works to create an anti-knife and anti-gang culture in London’s schools.

Speaking to the PA news agency, he questioned Mr Johnson’s record on knife crime.

Howard branded Mr Johnson untrustworthy, claiming he had promised the foundation funding before he became Mayor of London but never delivered.

He said: “Obviously Boris is funny to poke fun at and he’s not going to deliver Brexit.

“You wouldn’t trust him with a BBQ. You’d turn your eyes for one second and the meat would be burnt and he would be asleep in a canoe full of strawberries.

“So the likelihood he’s going to deal with Brexit is unlikely.”

Investitures at Buckingham Palace
Mark Prince holds his OBE medal at Buckingham Palace (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Howard became friends with former world boxing champion Mark Prince, whose 15-year-old song Kiyan was murdered in 2006, after inviting him on to his talk show, The Russell Howard Hour.

He said Prince, 50, had told him how Mr Johnson has promised funding then “never spoke to him again”.

He said: “What blew my mind is that he spoke to Boris Johnson before Boris was the mayor and Boris offered him money for the charity and then when he became mayor he never spoke to him again.

“It just struck me that if the Prime Minister is going to do nothing then I will step up and that’s what I am doing.”

He added: “It works a lot better than a load of crusty old Tories going: ‘It’s the music, isn’t it? They listen to drill music and rap music and that’s why they are terribly awful.’

“It just frustrates the hell out of me, and it’s just an easy thing to support.”

Howard also took aim at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over reports that a recent renovation of their official residence, Frogmore Cottage, cost the taxpayer £2.4 million, questioning why the money had not been spent on combating knife crime.

Russell Howard’s Respite world tour runs until September 23 2020, ending with three extra dates at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo on September 20, 21 and 23.