Conservative leadership race – live: Boris Johnson dodges hustings despite ridicule from Jeremy Hunt for ducking TV debate
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Boris Johnson is skipping Conservative leadership hustings with political journalists on Monday morning, hours after refusing to attend Channel 4’s televised debate.
His rival candidates are all participating in the event, which began at 11.10am, but the frontrunner's team claim he is too busy doing debate preparation to attend.
Channel 4 marked the Mr Johnson’s absence from Sunday’s debate with an empty podium.
During the event, Rory Stewart, one of the contenders vying to replace Theresa May, claimed up to 100 Conservative MPs would vote with him to stop Boris Johnson carrying out a no-deal Brexit – but ruled out joining with Labour to topple his government.
The Tory leadership outsider refused to echo senior Tories Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke who could potentially back a vote-of-no-confidence, saying: “I'm not going to take down a Conservative government.”
Questioned by The Independent at hustings in Westminster, Mr Stewart said: “We can stop a no-deal Brexit much more easily than that.
“I, and nearly 100 of my colleagues, would vote to prevent a no-deal Brexit without having to bring down a Conservative government.”
Mr Stewart also ruled out backing a Final Say referendum on Brexit, telling journalists it would be “catastrophic and divisive”.
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Welcome to our live coverage of today's news from Westminster
Five of the six Tory leadership candidates will appear this morning at hustings in front of political journalists, which will kick off at 11.10am.
Boris Johnson is yet to confirm his attendance, but the front runner will face pressure to turn up after skipping yesterday's televised debate on Channel 4.
The broadcaster "empty chaired" the former foreign secretary by marking his place with a podium.
Mr Johnson is facing accusations of cowardice, after repeatedly avoiding the media during his leadership campaign.
"Where's Boris?" Jeremy Hunt asked the audience during Sunday's debate.
“If Boris team won’t let him out to debate five pretty friendly colleagues, how will he get on with 27 EU countries?”
Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, received a warm reception from the studio audience and online during the debate.
Matt Hancock has backed Boris Johnson for prime minister, in an article published in The Times.
"It’s time to unite," the health secretary said on Twitter.
"I’m backing Boris to be the next PM on a pro-enterprise One Nation ticket".
“Boris has run a disciplined campaign and is almost certainly going to be our next prime minister," he added in the article.
Mr Hancock's endorsement is crucial for the former foreign secretary, who is widely seen as the front runner in the race to replace Theresa May.
Tom Watson, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, has once again declared his support for a second referendum on Brexit.
"We must bring the public back into this decision and we must argue strongly to remain," Mr Watson said in a video message.
"Our future doesn't need to be Brexit. We can change the future.
"We can put Britain back at the heart of Europe again."
Mr Watson will deliver a major speech on Brexit later on Monday at the Centre for European Reform, in which he will push for a referendum to solve the current political impasse.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party leader, is under pressure to clarify the party's position on a second referendum after Labour suffered losses in recent local and European elections.
Paul Masterton, the Conservative MP for East Renfrewshire, has backed Rory Stewart's Tory leadership bid.
The Scottish Conservative was previously supporting Matt Hancock, the health secretary, who withdrew from the race after the first round of voting.
"With Matt out, I'm still looking for the same things: energy, intelligence and enthusiasm with a clear vision for delivering Brexit and for the country beyond it," Mr Masterton said.
"Someone who really gets the Union, with ideas to strengthen and secure it."
Mr Stewart secured 19 votes in the first round of the contest and needs 33 votes in the second round of voting, which will be held on Tuesday.
He received a warm reception during a televised leadership debate held on Sunday evening.
Michael Gove has admitted that Matt Hancock's declaration of support for Boris Johnson is "disappointing."
Mr Gove's campaign is believed to have been courting Mr Hancock's endorsement, after the health secretary withdrew from the leadership race following first round voting.
"[It is] disappointing, naturally...he is a friend of mine," the environment secretary told BBC Radio 4.
"He had a very tough decision to make."
"He was alternating between supporting Boris and supporting me, he felt that we were the strongest candidates in the race," he added.
"At the moment, yes of course it is the case that Boris is the front runner," he said, when asked if Mr Johnson was certain to win. Mr Gove went on to defend Mr Johnson from personal attacks, when asked about the former foreign secretary's moral probity.
"In this race I'm seeking to argue that the particular mix of experience I have...is right for now," Mr Gove said.
"'You’ve got to believe in the bin.' Rory Stewart stole the show with a chaotic anecdote about his wife telling him he wouldn’t be able to fit three bags of rubbish in the dustbin," writes John Rentoul, The Independent's political commentator.
"He compared his rivals’ solutions to Brexit to asserting that if he simply believed it was possible to get all the rubbish in the bin, it would be possible."
Read more here:
Meanwhile in Brussels, Brexit is not the only issue on officials' minds.
Guy Verofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, has strongly criticised Donald Trump over the US president's repeated attacks on Sadiq Khan.
"The US, once leader of the free world, needs a president that stands up to divisive, alt-right bigots instead of spreading their hate," Mr Verofstadt wrote on Twitter.
He was commenting on a tweet sent by the president calling for a new London mayor, the latest in a long line of Mr Trump's criticisms of Mr Khan, who is a British Muslim.
Mr Trump retweeted Katie Hopkins, a commentator who has become popular in far-right circles, while criticising Mr Khan.
Tom Watson, Labour's deputy leader, has said Britain's future "doesn't need to be Brexit".
The West Bromwich East MP used a video message to set out the case for a second referendum on the European Union.
In the clip he said the prospect of Boris Johnson becoming prime minister meant there was an urgent need to act on the issue.
Mr Watson said the relationship with Europe was about "more than economics" or political co-operation.
"It's about what kind of country we are. What we want for our children: what we're able to bring them up to be.
"So those of us who love Europe should take pride in making this argument.
"We must bring the public back into this decision and we must argue strongly to remain.
"Our future doesn't need to be Brexit. We can change the future.
"We can put Britain back at the heart of Europe again."
Mr Watson will deliver a speech on Monday to the Centre for European Reform, in which he will set out further details.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party leader, has been resisting pressure to commit to a second Brexit referendum.
Read more here:
Michael Gove has conceded that Boris Johnson is likely to reach the final round of the Conservative leadership race, ahead of Tuesday's second round vote.
"At the moment, yes, of course it is the case that Boris is the front-runner," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"But we need to make sure that he is tested and that we have two candidates who go forward - if Boris is one of them - who we know are capable of being prime minister from day one.
"If, for any reason, I become the candidate against Boris and then to win - which I believe I can do - then I would be ready to be prime minister."
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