What would Churchill say? UK PM contest rival Jeremy Hunt taunts Boris Johnson for ‘hiding away’

Johnson, the front runner to replace May as British PM, needs to be braver and face the media, foreign minister Hunt said

Johnson’s rivals have promised to take part in televised debates, the first of which takes place on Sunday

Reading Time:3 minutes

Britain's Conservative Party lawmaker Boris Johnson. Photo: AP

Published: 8:48pm, 14 Jun 2019Updated: 8:50pm, 14 Jun 2019

Boris Johnson, the front runner to replace Theresa May as Britain’s prime minister, must face more scrutiny over his Brexit plans, his closest rival said on Friday with a taunt that his hero Winston Churchill would not shy away from the media.

Johnson has pledged that Britain will exit the European Union on October 31, warning his divided Conservative Party “delay means defeat”.

He argues that if Britain is prepared for a no-deal Brexit, the EU will bend to his argument to remove the so-called Northern Irish backstop to prevent a return to a hard border with Ireland if there is no agreed future trade deal.

May resigned as Conservative leader this month having failed three times to get her divorce deal struck with the EU through parliament. The EU has repeatedly said it will not renegotiate the withdrawal deal.

With Johnson winning the support of 114 of 313 party lawmakers in the first round of voting, there has been speculation in the British media that some rivals may withdraw to allow a more unified challenge to the man who led the official campaign in 2016 for Britain to vote to leave the bloc.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x