British leader flees Nato summit for the calm of the campaign trail

Election jitters surrounded a London Nato meeting where the insults flew

Boris Johnson is in the middle of a crucial election campaign that could determine Brexit. Bloomberg

Boris Johnson hosted his first multinational summit on Wednesday at a luxury resort known as the base for US National Football League players on tour in the UK.

Far from enjoying its charms, the British Prime Minister could not wait to flee The Grove hotel near Watford, north of the capital.

At the end of a frenetic press conference on Wednesday, the tousle-haired premier gleefully declared that he looked forward to seeing participants on the general election campaign trail soon.

The demands of summitry have their own dynamic and for that reason Mr Johnson was in truth a bit player all week.

Nato is not the “most successful multi-national alliance in history” for nothing.

The organisers pulled together a successful outcome to the 29-member anniversary meeting despite some remarkable fights between its main players.

The gathering will be remembered for a running series of disputes between presidents Trump, Erdogan and Macron, with walk-on parts for others, notably prime ministers including Mr Johnson and Justin Trudeau of Canada.

From the outset on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump hit out at the French leader, describing Mr Macron’s "brain-dead" comments about Nato as insulting and nasty.

The pair then met and publicly sparred in front of cameras over foreign ISIS fighters in Syria.

The show moved on to an official reception at Buckingham Palace where the leaders milled with royalty amid the marbled pillars.

A video published to social media overnight appeared to show Mr Macron, Mr Trudeau and Mr Johnson in a jovial mood, mocking Mr Trump.

Mr Johnson asked Mr Macron why he was late arriving to the royal palace.

"He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top [of his head],” Mr Trudeau responded, referring to Mr Trump.

"You just watched his team's jaws drop to the floor," Mr Trudeau added, gesticulating with his hands.

Mr Trump was caught on a hot microphone himself on Wednesday as he said his description of the Canadian leader as two-faced was "funny".

Meanwhile the British election clock was ticking. Conservative party aides had reason to be most relieved by the meeting's regular descents into farce.

These overshadowed any comments Mr Johnson had on domestic politics.

With polls tightening in the general election race and the last week of campaigning looming, the party high command feared it could not afford a mega-sized Trump intervention.

Nato said the meeting was a demonstration of the strength of its core principle. It was certainly filled with minute-to-minute drama but its legacy is moot.