Boris Johnson’s rivals for the Tory leadership have united to try to force the frontrunner to take part in televised debates before the next vote.
In a joint statement, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, Matt Hancock and Rory Stewart said the contest was “a critical moment” for both the UK and the Conservative party.
All six have committed to taking part in debates on Channel 4 on Sunday and on the BBC on Tuesday.
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Mr Johnson, who is said to be in “discussions” with broadcasters, could be represented by an empty chair if he refuses to appear.
Follow all the reaction with our liveblog below
With the top three contenders in the Tory leadership race saying they would consider leaving the EU without a deal, the cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill said on Thursday that the government was “in pretty good shape” to cope with a no-deal Brexit. He also warned the future PM not to drag the Queen into politics by attempting to suspend parliament.
It came as the European Commission has produced analysis suggesting that the UK would be hit up to 10 times harder than the continent.
According to the IMF, the long-term effect on the EU’s GDP would be less than 1 per cent, compared to between 3 and 8 per cent for the UK (including the British government’s own estimate of 7.7 per cent).
Here’s a reminder of some of Boris Johnson’s most blatant falsehoods.
There have been varying reactions to the prospect of a seven-way Tory leadership debate on TV.
Alastair Stewart of ITV News believes it’s more important that Boris Johnson gives “one-to-one forensic interviews” to the media, while former ambassador to the US Christopher Meyer suggests the TV debates should be delayed until there are only two contenders left standing.
Former Labour and Change UK MP Chuka Umunna will officially confirm he has joined the Liberal Democrats with a press conference at 12.15pm.
He first announced the move last night on Twitter. Here’s our report by Chiara Giordano.
Today is also the second anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire.
A day of remembrance will begin with a memorial service at nearby St Helen’s Church at 11am.
At midday the community will observe a 72-second silence to mark the 72 victims.
This evening survivors, relatives, neighbours and friends of those who died on 14 June 2017 will lay wreaths at the foot of the 24-storey tower before walking silently through North Kensington.
In other news, there are now only 139 days until Brexit. Or until Brexit is delayed again.
The foreign secretary refused to say if he believed Mr Johnson would be a good prime minister.
Mr Hunt told the Today programme: “I hope he would be if he becomes prime minister. I don’t know the answer to that question in advance. But, if he gets the job, I will do everything in my power to make him a successful prime minister.”
Jeremy Hunt has taunted Boris Johnson about “hiding away” from the media during the Tory leadership race. “What would Churchill say?”, he asks.
Mr Johnson is also the author of a book called “The Churchill Factor”, described on Amazon as “essential reading for anyone who wants to know what makes a great leader.”
Here’s political correspondent Lizzy Buchan with the full story.
Health secretary Matt Hancock is reportedly considering pulling out of the Tory leadership race to support either Michael Gove or Jeremy Hunt.
The remaining seven contenders need 33 votes needed to get past the next round on Tuesday. Only three reached that number on Thursday’s vote – Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt.
One of Mr Johnson’s supporters described the other four – Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, Rory Stewart and Matt Hancock as “vanity candidates”.
They told the Telegraph: “Anyone else who tries to carry on is being indulgent.”
If there were only three candidates left by next Tuesday’s vote, one would be eliminated and the contest could proceed to the next stage of voting by the party membership the same day, instead of next Thursday as currently scheduled.
Here’s the Independent’s political sketch writer Tom Peck on Boris Johnson, future prime minister.
“The Tory party cannot face up to the truth of what it’s done, so it’s sending for the biggest liar of them all. Can you blame them? Theresa May was unable to escape reality, so they destroyed her. Johnson can’t do it either, but he says he can, and that will certainly do for now.”
After BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire became the latest media figure to mispronounce Jeremy Hunt‘s name, the foreign secretary has urged broadcasters to “grow up”.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “I’m used to it. I had this when I was at school. Personally I think people should just grow up and get over the fact that my last name rhymes with a rather unpleasant word.”
Education secretary Damian Hinds has also called on Boris Johnson to take part in the TV debates. “All candidates need to be properly scrutinised, put under some pressure,” he tells Sky News. “This is not an ordinary job vacancy, its the prime minister of the country. The public want to see the full range of questions put to them.”
Priti Patel, a supporter of Boris Johnson, told Today that his jokes Muslim women wearing the veil was “not to mock” them but “was a clear defence of women’s rights to wear whatever they like”.
That’s a stark contrast to the approach taken by Mohammed Amin, chairman on the Muslim Conservative Forum, who said Mr Johnson failes the test of being “sufficiently moral to be prime minister.”
There are many horrible people who have been popular. Popularity is not the test.
A lot of Germans thought that Hitler was the right man for them.
I am not saying Boris Johnson wants to send people to the gas chamber, clearly he doesn’t.
He’s a buffoon.
Jeremy Hunt has also appeared on the Today programme to accuse Boris Johnson of hiding from the media.
He said: “We can only have that debate if our front-runner in this campaign is a little bit braver in terms of getting out into the media and actually engaging in debates. Engaging in the TV debates.”
Mr Hunt said he would take part in leadership TV debates, adding: “What would Churchill say if someone who wants to be prime minister of the United Kingdom is hiding away from the media, not taking part in these big occasions?”
However Mr Stewart, the international development secretary, has also said he could serve in a cabinet led by Boris Johnson.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If we ended up in a crisis, and I fear no-deal Brexit would be a crisis, and if he were to wish me to come back, which I think is a little doubtful given the slight acrimony of the last few weeks, then, of course, I’d be honoured to serve.”
Yesterday Rory Stewart vowed to “bring down” Boris Johnson as prime minister if he tries to suspend parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Johnson has not ruled out suspending parliament in order to fulfil his pledge to take the UK out of the EU by 31 October, deal or no deal. But he is understood to have told MPs at a hustings earlier this week that he was not in favour of the controversial move.
Last September Mr Johnson told Sky News that he backs televised debates for general elections.
“My feeling is that they are essential and the public does need to see interchange between their potential leader,” he says.
Sky News on Twitter
“My feeling is that they are essential and the public does need to see interchange between their potential leaders” – Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has backed Sky News’ #MakeDebatesHappen campaign. For more, head here: https://t.co/VcsYZb7wu3 https://t.co/FcHbxo7Lzc
The frontrunner is also facing further criticism over his past remarks about Islamic dress.
Mohammed Amin, the chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, compared Boris Johnson to Adolf Hitler and said he will end his 36-year membership of the party if he becomes prime minister.
Mr Amin said that Mr Johnson, who won the first round of the Tory leadership race with nearly three times the votes of his closest rival, was not “sufficiently moral” to lead the country.
Boris Johnson has faced criticism for ducking interviews with the media during his highly stage-managed campaign. So far the frontrunner has taken just six questions from journalists.
His opponents have now ganged up by committing to appear on TV leadership debates on Sunday and Tuesday, with Channel 4 saying he will be represented by an empty chair if he refuses to take part.
Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, Matt Hancock and Rory Stewart said in a joint statement:
The next Conservative Leader, and Prime Minister, will have the crucial task of uniting Britain behind a new vision – not only to deliver Brexit, but to define what comes next.
This leadership contest provides an important opportunity to debate, to shape and to define the ideas which will underpin those competing visions.
That is why we are committed to taking part in the Channel 4 televised debates this Sunday and the BBC programme next Tuesday.
Mr Johnson’s spokesman has said his client is “in discussions” with broadcasters.
The next vote is scheduled to take place on 18 June, with further ballots on 19 and 20 June to reduce the field until only two remain. Mr Johnson is most likely to be one of those two, but the other is far from certain. The six other contenders are now vying to claim the mantle of the “stop Boris” candidate, writes political editor Andrew Woodcock.
