‘Don’t be a coward’ Hunt tells Boris in Tory leadership race
Jeremy Hunt has labelled Tory leadership race rival Boris Johnson a “coward” for failing to engage in public debates on the future of Brexit.
The foreign secretary, who is vying for the votes of Conservative party members against frontrunner Boris Johnson, increased the pressure on his rival as polls show Johnson’s level of support has slipped.
Read more: Domestic row hurts Boris Johnson in the polls
“On the question of debates, he is being a coward,” Hunt told Sky News. “It is very disrespectful to say that you’re not going to appear in any head-to-head debates in the two weeks when (party members) can see you before they’ve actually voted.
“People need to know what you’re going to do and you need to answer those questions,” Hunt, Britain’s foreign minister, said. “I promise Boris Johnson the fight of his life and he’s going to have that and he’s going to lose.”
The pair are set for a head-to-head debate on Sky News tomorrow but Hunt criticised his rival for “slinking through the back door” into Number 10 without having his views and policies tested./
“Don’t be a coward Boris, man up and show the nation you can cope with the intense scrutiny the most difficult job in the country will involve,” he added in a Times column today.
An apparent domestic row between Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, that emerged over the weekend has dealt a blow to the former foreign secretary’s leadership ambitions.
The Tory leadership race favourite has dropped 10 points to 45 per cent support among Tory voters, according to a Mail on Sunday poll.
Police were called to Johnson’s home with his partner after a loud argument with Symonds in the early hours of Friday.
Johnson has dismissed calls to explain the cause of the argument, which a neighbour recorded and shared with the Guardian.
Police found everybody to be safe and said nobody had committed any offences.
Johnson used his Telegraph column today to attempt to steer attention back to his campaign stance on Brexit.
In a possible dig at Hunt’s wish to delay Brexit beyond its Halloween deadline to secure a deal, Johnson said “we are not going to bottle it”.
“We are just over four months away from the date on which, by law, we must leave the EU; and this time we are not going to bottle it,” he wrote.
Read more: Police called to Boris Johnson’s home after reports of altercation
“We are not going to fail. This time we are not going to shrink in fear from the exit, as we have on the last two occasions.”
Hunt said: “What Boris needs to do is to engage properly in this leadership debate, not to shy away from the Sky News live debate that’s scheduled for Tuesday evening, which he’s been invited to [and] I’ve said I’m willing to go to.”