Boris Johnson might have had heavy backing to be the next PM , but, the politician faces immense pressure from members of his own party to explain a domestic row with a younger girlfriend that ended in a visit from the police. The incident also seems to have had an immediate effect on his support to beat Jeremy Hunt for the top job.
According to The Guardian, police were alerted early on Friday after a neighbour heard a loud altercation involving screams, shouts and bangs at the south London property, shortly after Johnson had secured his place in the final run-off to become prime minister. The paper said Johnson's partner Carrie Symonds could be heard telling the former London mayor to "get off me" and "get out of my flat".
Johnson began dating Carrie Symonds, a former staff of the Conservative Party last year, after he split from from his wife.
Johnson refused to answer questions about the incident saying "I don't think people want to hear about that kind of thing." "We need to get Brexit done" and promising to prepare Britain for a no deal exit from the EU, if a deal cannot be reached,” he added, trying to shift the focus to politics.
The crowd present gave Johnson a standing ovation, and loudly heckled interviewer Iain Dale as he quizzed the former London mayor over Friday's domestic incident.
Johnson, has also been under scrutiny for his relationship with Steve Bannon, the controversial former adviser to US President Donald Trump.
A senior Conservative party member, Malcolm Rifkind criticised the response, saying "the fact is there was a police visit. You don't just say 'no comment'. "That implies you may have something you don't want to disclose," he added. Rifkind has indicated that he would back Hunt in the race for PM.
"Stuff happens at home all the time... someone spills the wine, we can't really be making headlines out of that," supporter Hasnain Ahmed, 23, said.
Hunt had earlier challenged Johnson to reveal whether he would call for a general election if MPs refused to allow the UK to leave without a deal on said date of the Brexit, on October 31. He also said that Johnson must explain how he could guarantee the UK would leave the EU on the said date.
According to opponents, a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic as it would see the UK leave the customs union and single market overnight. This would send several firms into a tizzy.
