TORY leadership contenders Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson set out their pitches for No. 10 at a conference in Birmingham yesterday.
Johnson stood by his pledge that he would “get Brexit done,” while Hunt warned the country not to elect “the wrong person,” which would risk “catastrophe”.
Hunt’s predecessor as Foreign Secretary entered the hustings under intense scrutiny after police were called to the flat he shares with girlfriend Carrie Symonds after neighbours reported screaming and “slamming and banging, “ in the early hours of Friday morning.
Police have said they will not be taking any further action.
READ MORE: Ian Blackford demands release of Boris Johnson bust-up tape
Asked whether character was a key factor in selecting a Prime Minister, Johnson said “I don’t think people want to hear about that,” adding that people were “entitled to ask me what I want to do for the country,” when he was accused of avoiding questions.
His rival Hunt warned that getting things wrong on Brexit could mean “no Conservative Government and maybe even no Conservative party,” but added that a successful Brexit would “send Corbyn packing”.
Johnson then said it was “precisely because we will be preparing between now and October 31 for a no-deal Brexit that we will get the deal we need,” he said, before repeating that it was “feasible” for the UK to exit the EU by October 31.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, responding to the hustings, said: “Neither candidate for Tory leader has the right answers for Scotland.
“Both candidates support a Westminster power grab – riding roughshod over devolution. “The simple fact is that there is no way to deliver Brexit without ripping up the Tory red lines or crashing out without a deal. If the Tories think they can change this through force of personality alone then they’ve picked the wrong personalities. On policy, on leadership and on personal character, Scotland deserves better.”
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