Tory leadership race: Hunt goads Johnson for missing debate, after frontrunner renews 31 October Brexit pledge

Follow how the day in Westminster unfolded

Boris Johnson refuses to deny photo of him with Carrie Symonds is six weeks old

Jeremy Hunt has goaded Boris Johnson for pulling out of a television debate as the Tory leadership candidates hit the campaign trail hard.

Meanwhile, Mr Hunt said he would instead hold a question-and-answer session on Twitter.

Earlier, Mr Johnson again declined to discuss in detail a late-night quarrel at his home, saying it was “simply unfair” to “drag” his loved ones into the political arena in an interview with the BBC.

After Mr Hunt accused him of ducking public scrutiny, Mr Johnson has a flurry of broadcast interviews and visits in the south east planned for Tuesday.

A spokesman from his camp claimed: “We’re definitely stepping it up.”

After days avoiding journalists’ questions, the former foreign secretary sought to get his campaign back on track, declaring he would deliver Brexit by the Halloween deadline “do or die”.

Mr Hunt, meanwhile, hit back at his rival, dismissing 31 October as a “fake deadline” which would more likely result in a general election which could hand the keys of No 10 to Jeremy Corbyn.

The foreign secretary suggested Mr Johnson would be unable to win the trust of other EU leaders to successfully negotiate a new Brexit deal with Brussels.

In a letter to his rival, Mr Johnson said the “central question” in the leadership contest was the issue of whether the next prime minister would commit to leaving the EU by 31 October.

“If we fail to deliver once again, the consequences for our party and our country will be devastating,” he said. “We must not kick the can down the road again. The British people have had enough of being left in limbo.”

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Key Points

• Hunt goads Johnson over missed debate
• Boris Johnson claims it is 'simply unfair' to have row with partner discussed
• ... as he dismisses links to Steve Bannon as 'codswallop'
• A dozen Tory MPs 'will topple government' to avoid no-deal scenario
• Jeremy Hunt promises to boost defence spending

[25 June 2019 07:42 · Adam Forrest]

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the Conservative leadership contest.

[25 June 2019 07:44 · Adam Forrest]

Frontrunner Boris Johnson has been warned that as many as a dozen Tory MPs are ready to back a vote of no confidence, triggering a general election, to stop a no deal Brexit.

Here’s our political editor Andrew Woodcock with all the details.

[25 June 2019 07:46 · Adam Forrest]

If you missed his interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Boris Johnson again declined to discuss in detail a late-night quarrel at his home, saying it was “simply unfair” to “drag” his loved ones into the political arena.

Asked what happened that night by Kuenssberg, Mr Johnson said he did not want to “drag” his family and loved ones into the political spotlight.

He said: “I... would love to tell you about all sorts of things, Laura, but I’ve made it a rule over many, many years - and I think you’ve interviewed me loads of times - I do not talk about stuff involving my family, my loved ones.

“And there’s a very good reason for that. That is that, if you do, you drag them into things that... in a way that is not fair on them.”

The Tory leadership frontrunner also called for “creative ambiguity” over the £39 billion cost of the UK’s Brexit divorce deal.

[25 June 2019 08:01 · Adam Forrest]

Jeremy Hunt has pledged to spend an extra £15 billion on defence if he is made prime minister to help combat “new threats to western values”.

The Tory leadership hopeful said he would increase funding for the armed forces by 25 per cent over five years to show Britain is “determined to remain a first-rank military power”.

The boost would see defence spending rise from 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.5 per cent.

[25 June 2019 08:12 · Adam Forrest]

Tory MP Amber Rudd – the work and pensions secretary – has been talking about Boris Johnson this morning.

Responding to claims that a dozen Tory MPs would be prepared to bring down a government heading to a no-deal Brexit, she said: “I think that’s about right. I think it’s slightly less than that but it’s certainly more than two.”

“This is an incredibly difficult situation and Boris needs to explain how he will deal with both sides of the Conservative Party that have concerns and try and break the impasse with the European Union,” she told the Today programme.

“Enthusiasm and optimism is not sufficient.”

[25 June 2019 08:25 · Ashley Cowburn]

Boris Johnson has been warned that as many as a dozen Conservative MPs will back a vote of no confidence, triggering a general election, to block a no-deal Brexit, writes political editor Andrew Woodcock.

The former foreign secretary has promised to take the UK out of the Europe Union on 31 October with or without an agreement on divorce terms.

And his rival for the Tory leadership, Jeremy Hunt, the current foreign secretary, has not ruled out a potentially damaging no-deal outcome, though he says he is ready to extend Brexit negotiations in the hope of avoiding it.

With the incoming prime minister likely to have a working majority of no more than three MPs in the House of Commons when he arrives at 10 Downing Street next month, the defence minister Tobias Ellwood left no doubt that opponents of no deal believe they have the numbers to stop the UK crashing out.

“I think a dozen or so members of parliament would be on our side, would be voting against supporting a no deal, and that would include ministers as well as backbenchers,” he told BBC1’s Panorama: The Race for Number 10.

[25 June 2019 08:29 · Ashley Cowburn]

Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick has confirmed he will not stand for the party at the next general election, after Labour HQ asked all MPs to say whether they will stand for re-selection as a candidate in an email to all parliamentary colleagues on Monday.

[25 June 2019 08:34 · Adam Forrest]

Boris Johnson is taking listeners calls on LBC at 9.30 am this morning as part of a media blitz aimed at rejuvenated his campaign today.

He is expected to do a series of interviews and other staged media events in the south east after attacks by rival Jeremy Hunt for dodging public scrutiny.

A spokesman from his camp told the Press Association said: “We’re definitely stepping it up.”

[25 June 2019 08:56 · Ashley Cowburn]

A definitive shift in Labour’s Brexit policy has been put on hold after the Unite union dug its heels in against moves to throw the party’s full weight behind a second referendum and a Remain vote.

Hopes that a change in position would be agreed on Tuesday at a crunch shadow cabinet meeting were dashed after the union’s intervention in talks with Jeremy Corbyn.

Senior shadow cabinet ministers including Tom Watson, the deputy leader and Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, will continue to press for full-throated support for a Final Say vote, but now believe they will have to wait longer for a breakthrough.

[25 June 2019 09:33 · Ashley Cowburn]

Boris Johnson, the leadership contender, is now appearing on LBC Radio. According to the Press Association he dodged waiting journalists as he arrived at the studios.

The front-runner to become the next prime minister was driven past a group of photographers and reporters into a private car park beneath the Global radio office in Leicester Square.