Boris Johnson’s refuses to talk on domestic feud; support soars to more than 20%

The Tory leadership favourite blocked – on three occasions – an interviewer’s attempt, at the first hustings at Birmingham on Saturday, to extract an explanation for the incident that has cast a shadow over his bid for No 10.

Instead, Mr Johnson insisted the audience of Conservative members wanted to know “what my plans are for my country and for the party”. “I don’t think they want to hear about that kind of thing,” the former foreign secretary claimed.

Trying to change the subject, Mr Johnson said: “People are entitled to ask about my determination and my character. When I make a promise in politics, I keep that promise and I deliver.”

Meanwhile Johnson is more than 20 points ahead of Jeremy Hunt among grass-roots Conservatives, a new poll suggests.

A ComRes survey for The Sunday Telegraph found that 61 per cent of Tory councillors intended to vote for Mr Johnson in the party’s leadership contest, compared to 39 per cent planning to back the current Foreign Secretary.

Via Independent/The Telegraph