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."
