'Where is Boris?' No-show Johnson ridiculed as PM contenders clash in first leadership debate
Five of the six remaining candidates clash over suspending Parliament to achieve a no-deal Brexit, as one podium is left empty.
Monday 17 June 2019 12:49, UK
Boris Johnson was ridiculed as he failed to turn up to the first televised debate between Conservative leadership candidates.
The frontrunner was represented by an empty podium during the Channel 4 debate, which saw Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab, Rory Stewart, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid clash on Brexit.
Delaying his answer to a question about the potential threat of a no-deal Brexit to business, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt asked: "Where is Boris?"
He added: "We've been talking about Brexit for 25 minutes now.
"If his team won't allow him out to debate with five pretty friendly colleagues, how's he going to fare with 27 European countries?
"He should be here to answer that very question."
International Development Secretary Rory Stewart said he hoped that "one of us" became prime minister - making it clear he would not welcome a Johnson victory.
He has also said he would not serve in a Johnson cabinet.
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Giving his opinion on how to deliver Brexit, Home Secretary Sajid Javid appeared to criticise Theresa May as he said the "number one mistake was not properly planning for no-deal".
He said that a no-deal Brexit was the "last thing" he wanted to see, adding: "You do plan for no-deal precisely because you want a deal."
Some of the sharpest exchanges were over Dominic Raab's opinion that suspending Parliament - in order to achieve a no-deal Brexit - should not be ruled out.
Mr Raab said: "I don't think it is likely but it is not illegal", adding that Britain "can manage" the risks attached.
But Mr Stewart said a no-deal Brexit was a "complete nonsense" that would "deeply damage our economy".
Mr Raab and Mr Stewart were placed next to each other in the debate, and the tensions between the pair became clear when Mr Raab told his neighbour not to "misrepresent my position".
Mr Javid also rounded on Mr Stewart when he said it was a "complete nonsense" to take away the threat of no-deal.
Attacking Mr Raab, Rory Stewart said that suspending Parliament would be "undemocratic" and "strike at the heart of our constitution".
He added that the "problem with no deal is that big word no".
"It's a no to Europe, it's a no to trade, and it's actually a no to detail, because nobody's explaining what the tariff schedules are going to be," he said.
He continued: "I believe in a country that says yes. Yes to trade, yes to a deal, yes to opportunity."
Mr Raab made it clear he was unimpressed with Mr Stewart's idea of a citizen's assembly to find a solution to the Brexit impasse, describing it as "undemocratic" and the "Venezuelan option".
The former Brexit secretary claimed he was the candidate "most trusted to get us out of the EU by the end of October".
Jeremy Hunt said that shutting Parliament would be a "profound mistake" and "wrong", while Mr Javid also ruled it out.
Michael Gove claimed he could "get the European Union to change their approach".
He added: "We cannot leave unless Parliament votes for it".
Addressing Mr Raab, he said no-deal could not be pushed through "against the will of Parliament".
Asked what their weaknesses were, Mr Gove said "impatience", Mr Raab said he was restless, while Mr Stewart said he had "a lot of weaknesses".
Mr Javid said he was "very stubborn", and Mr Hunt, referring to a dispute with junior doctors when he was health secretary, said he could "be better at communicating what you want to do".