Boris Johnson under pressure to explain police incident

London CNN — Boris Johnson, the front-runner in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister, was facing mounting calls Sunday to fully explain an incident in which police attended an alleged altercation at the London home he shares with his girlfriend. “I think what they want to hear is what my plans are for the country and the party.” Jeremy Hunt, Johnson’s rival for leadership of the Conservative Party, said in a piece for The Times of London on Monday that he was not interested in Johnson’s private life, but challenged his opponent to provide an explanation to the public about both his policies and the incident. “Don’t be a coward Boris, man up and show the nation you can cope with the intense scrutiny the most difficult job in the country will involve.” International Trade Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC that while Johnson’s private life “does not concern me,” he added: “I think it is always easier to just give an explanation.” Former Conservative Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind also told the BBC: “If you are a candidate to be prime minister and the police have been called to your house – fairly or unfairly – the fact is there was a police visit. “I just think his record throughout his time both as mayor of London – wasting money on the garden bridge, wasting money on Routemaster buses, wasting money on water cannon that couldn’t be used – through to his disastrous tenure as foreign secretary just renders him completely, I think, unsuitable to be the prime minister of our great country.” Was there ever a man less suited to be Prime Minister?https://t.co/GnxWGMwrKm — Keir Starmer June 21, 2019 Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer tweeted the Guardian’s initial story about the alleged dispute with the comment, “Was there ever a man less suited to be Prime Minister?” Boris Johnson attends the first leadership hustings on Saturday in Birmingham. “I believe it is reasonable for someone who is likely to become our next prime minister to be held accountable for all of their words, actions and behaviours,” he explained Penn said he voted Remain in the EU referendum but since contacting the Guardian he and his partner have been the target of “fictitious allegations” by “some areas of the press.” Many of Britain’s Conservative party-backing tabloid newspapers on Sunday suggested that Penn and his girlfriend reported the incident to police because of their political leanings.