PM Boris Johnson nearly drowned during his short holiday in the Applecross peninsula, when he was lost at sea on a paddleboard, according to The Times.
A source told the newspaper that security agents had to call in a helicopter to find Johnson, who had floated far out to sea. Some of his guards had to strip to their underpants and get in the water. They intercepted the head of government as he was paddling, halfway to the shore.
"He nearly drowned. He was taken out by the current. He got swept away and found himself going further and further out", the source said. "It was all fine in the end but it could have been a catastrophe".
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks, onboard the Esvagt Alba during a visit to the Moray Offshore Windfarm East, off the Aberdeenshire coast, Scotland, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021.
© AP Photo / Jane Barlow
Others, however, said Johnson had to be rescued from a canoe, the newspaper added.
The trip, where Johnson was accompanied by his now-wife Carrie Symonds and their son Wilfred, was interrupted some days after it started following reporters finding the three-bedroom cottage where he was staying.