The British prime minister-in-waiting, Boris Johnson likes to joke that he was the one who dumped bendy buses on Malta. He also once admitted copying the Maltese foreign minister's notes at EU meetings.

He aimed his wit at Malta way back in 2012 while he was still London mayor and the Maltese authorities were still happy with those bendy buses.

He boasted at the Conservative Party conference that the “jack-knifed diplodocus” bendy buses were now “clogging up the streets of Malta”. A year later they were later banned when three set fire within three days. 

Mr Johnson cited the removal of the much-maligned long buses – one of his electoral promises – as one of his mayorship’s successes.

But a Malta Transport Ministry spokeswoman quickly retorted in a media statement that Maltese passengers “appreciate the comfort and sheer capacity of articulated buses”. Such buses could be found in most European cities, she added.

Articulated buses could comfortably carry up to four buses’ worth of passengers, the spokeswoman argued. “By our mathematics, that is considerably less congestion, rather than more.”

Many of the London bendy buses ended up in Malta when bus company Arriva won a contract to be the country’s national bus service. 

Back in 2009 articulated or "bendy" buses were on the streets of London. Photo: Shutterstock

They were 18 metres long and just within the EU-established 2.5 metre width limit. They soon found problems negotiating Malta's roads, some being unable to manoeuvre roundabouts or bends.

Their demise came quickly. Then Transport Minister Joe Mizzi banned them in August 2013 after three fires on them in as many days. They were bought by a company which intended to export them to Africa, but failed. Some eventually caught fire and were destroyed while most of the rest were scrapped.

Special relationship, and special notes

As foreign minister, Mr Johnson visited Malta to discuss Brexit.

In one such visit he admitted in November 2016 that he often looked at the speaking notes of Malta's then Foreign Minister George Vella, who sat next him.

He was quoted as saying: ‘George has brilliant notes about everything which I often have to borrow or steal.’

During a visit in 2017 he had talks with Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela and confirmed that Britain and Malta enjoyed a ‘special relationship’.

The controversial Mr Johnson takes over from Theresa May amid failure to deliver Britain's exit from the European Union.