Boris Johnson praises Trump, saying US president has 'many, many good qualities'

Tory leadership frontrunner says US president has got economy 'motoring' and is 'having results'

Boris Johnson has lavished praise on Donald Trump, saying the US president has "many, many good qualities" and lauding his record in office.

The Tory leadership frontrunner said the Republican had got the US economy "motoring" and suggested that he wanted to copy some of Mr Trump's policies.

Speaking at a Conservative leadership hustings in Carlisle, he said the US president was "having results" and added: "We should pay tribute to that."

Mr Johnson, who is vying with Jeremy Hunt to be the next prime minister, was asked how he would persuade Mr Trump to take tougher action against global warming.

The former foreign secretary said he had been "very clear" with Mr Trump and his team that the US "must play a leading role in continuing to reduce CO2".

Of the US president, he added: "Actually he has many, many good qualities. This is a guy who, when all is said and done, has got the US economy motoring along at about 3.6 per cent growth.

"He's put in capital allowances for business in a way that I think we should be looking at here, he's cut regulations and he's cut taxes in a way that has driven growth in the US."

He continued: "We Tories, we Conservatives, I think, for too long have failed to talk up the agenda of free market economics, and we've failed to be positive about it...I know that not everybody agrees with everything Donald Trump says or does but on that he is having results, and we should pay tribute to that."

In comments reminiscent of Mr Trump's criticism of the media, Mr Johnson described the BBC as the "Brexit Bashing Corporation" and condemned the organisation's decision to stop funding free television licences for people aged over 75.

He reserved further criticism for John Bercow, the House of Commons speaker, who he warned not to help MPs hoping to block a no-deal Brexit.

He said: "I hope that John the speaker will take his responsibilities as a parliamentarian as seriously and soberly as we all do and make sure he uses his good offices to reflect the overwhelming will of the people that we should get Brexit done whatever people voted and he will help parliamentarians to recover the trust that they have currently lost by getting us out of the EU by 31 October."

Mr Hunt also appeared to criticised Mr Bercow​, saying: "He is a reforming speaker and I respect some of the changes he's made but in the end I think a speaker has to be fair to all sides of the House of Commons and he's taken the view the speaker is there to champion the backbenchers against the government.

"But I think for the government of this country to work we need a referee who holds the field completely impartially between both sides."

Mr Johnson appeared more relaxed during the latest hustings than he did during some appearances earlier in the campaign.

At one stage, he took aim at Theresa May and her cricketing icon, Sir Geoffrey Boycott.

The current prime minister has previously compared her leadership style to Mr Boycott's steady style of batting. Mr Johnson said it was time for a change and claimed he would be more like Sir Ian Botham.

He said: "I think that there is one way to do this thing now, if I may venture a cricketing metaphor, I think we've had quite a lot of Boycott on the wicket and it is time for Botham to come in. That is my view."

Mr Johnson was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter while outlining his policy on climate change.

He joked: "Whose chopper is that? I've got a terrible feeling that's mine. Deeply embarrassing just as I'm talking about climate change. This could not be a worse moment.

"I promise we will offset those emissions by planting a shrubbery or whatever it is necessary to do."

Told a few minutes later that the helicopter was, in fact, being used by Mr Hunt, Mr Johnson said: "Why can't we economise? We're, after all, going to the same meetings - actually I think that's a national scandal."