The candidates to be Britain's next Prime Minister struggled to say Boris Johnson is honest when quizzed during a live TV debate. The five politicians vying to succeed Mr Johnson as Conservative party leader have been going head-to-head on Channel 4 tonight (Friday, July 15).
A key moment early in the debate came when host Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked the participants whether the outgoing PM is honest, following scandals such as Partygate and the row over the appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip. Asked if the PM is honest, Kemi Badenoch responded: "Sometimes", while Tom Tugendhat simply shook his head, The Mirror reports.
Penny Mordaunt said: "There have been some really severe issues and I think he has paid a price for that." Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak - who resigned just two days before the PM was forced out - said: "I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt for as long as possible and ultimately I reached the conclusion that I couldn't, and that's why I resigned... There were a number of reasons that I resigned but trust and honesty was part of that."
Liz Truss said: "He has been very clear himself that he made mistakes in Government" but she had taken his explanation for inaccurate statements over Partygate "at face value". Not one audience member held up their hand when asked by Mr Guru-Murthy whether they trusted politicians - highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the winner.
Then the candidates were asked why anyone should trust them. Tom Tugendhat admitted that a "clean start" is needed, saying: "Trust in our party has been collapsing, we know we need a clean start."
Mr Tugendhat added that candidates need to make it clear they are acting in the public's interest, and not just trying to advance their career. Mr Sunak, who did not resign until the "very last minute", said: "I always tried to give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt, but that became increasingly hard."
Ms Badenoch said she would not call a General Election, but said: "It's time to tell the truth," saying the party has previously been guilty of avoiding telling the public difficult truths. Ms Truss denied "getting the dogs out" on Ms Mordaunt, who emerged as a favourite earlier this week, saying: "I'm running an entirely positive campaign."
