Boris Johnson’s blazing row with lover Carrie Symonds could hurt his chances to become Prime Minister, fear senior Tories
BORIS Johnson’s row with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds could hurt his bid to become the new Prime Minister, senior Tories fear. The explosive argument was overheard by neighbours yesterday morning, and resulted in cops being called to their Camberwell home in South London. The worried resident heard screaming, shouting and plate-smashing just after midnight and […]
BORIS Johnson’s row with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds could hurt his bid to become the new Prime Minister, senior Tories fear.
The explosive argument was overheard by neighbours yesterday morning, and resulted in cops being called to their Camberwell home in South London.
The worried resident heard screaming, shouting and plate-smashing just after midnight and called 999 over fears for Carrie, 31.
Johnson’s partner reportedly shouted “get off me” and “get out of my flat” during a bust-up at their home, it was claimed last night.
And a senior Tory MP told MailOnline the row “will not go down well” with Tory activists.
They said: “Boris is clearly the favourite in this leadership race but four weeks is a very long time in politics.
“He’s got 16 hustings, all of which are going to be televised… a lot can change.
“I think a lot of Conservative members are waiting to see the outcome of the debates and things like that.”
One neighbour said they heard what appeared to be an angry confrontation and recorded it because they feared for Carrie’s safety.
In the recording, Mr Johnson can allegedly be heard refusing to leave the flat and telling his girlfriend to “get off my f***ing laptop” before a loud crash is heard.
‘WILL NOT GO DOWN WELL’
Today the 55-year-old will face off with his rival Jeremy Hunt in the first run-off hustings, as questions over his private life could risk his bid to be Prime Minister.
It also comes as Hunt called Johnson a “bottler” – saying he’s timed his debate appearances for after party members have cast their votes.
Another MP told the website: “If the bulk of your members are over 60, most of them have got grandchildren, most of them have settled down, most of them are stable… the activists are going to turn around and say do we really want this guy to be PM? Anybody normal would think that.
“This guy is going to be PM and all this stuff is going on in his private life – how chaotic is he? If he can’t hold it together at his age, what the hell is going on?”
MP Ben Wallace, a senior ally of Mr Johnson tweeted a message in support, before quickly deleting it.
He wrote: “What a non story ‘couple have row.’ Lefty neighbours give recording to Guardian.
“Newspaper reaches new low is a better news story.”
Today former attorney general Dominic Grieve said the issue of character is relevant in the Conservative leadership race as party members choose between Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt.
Mr Grieve told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think the issue of any candidate’s character, standing for the leadership of a party, and aiming to be a Prime Minister is going to be relevant.
This guy is going to be PM and all this stuff is going on in his private life – how chaotic is he? If he can’t hold it together at his age, what the hell is going on?
Senior Tory
Nursery worker Fatima, 32, lives next door to the couple with her four-year-old son.
She said: “I heard a lot of noise, mostly screaming and shouting. It lasted about ten minutes.
“I was watching something on TV, I had to mute it. I’ve never heard anything like it before.”
Last night the couple tried to play down the incident — telling friends they did have a row but insisting it was not serious.
Johnson’s spokesman refused to make any comment on the incident last night, or deny any of the facts about it — first reported by The Guardian.
But one senior MP close to Boris said last night: “What the hell is he thinking? This is our worst nightmare”.
When The Sun broke the news to another senior MP backer, he said: “Oh f***.” But others close to Johnson attempted to shake it off.
Another senior figure on his team said: “It’s just an argument with his girlfriend isn’t it?
“I’m sure it can all be explained, and that’s what I imagine Carrie will be doing tomorrow.”
However, the shocking revelations will still throw into doubt Johnson’s hopes of a smooth journey into Downing Street in the next month.
He has been the runaway leader in the race to succeed Theresa May as PM.
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On Thursday night he won the latest vote in the battle for No10 with 160 backers — more than half of all 313 Tory MPs.
Mr Hunt bagged 77 votes — pipping Michael Gove who got 75 votes and was eliminated.
After news of the row broke, odds on Hunt becoming the next PM were slashed by half – coming in to 4-1 from 8-1. Boris remains odds-on favourite at 1-7, although his odds had drifted from 1-14 following the row reports.
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