Boris Johnson refuses to answer questions about strange photo
He is the man most likely to be the next Prime Minister of the UK. But a strange photo of him with his partner has divided opinion.
Boris Johnson has continued to dodge questions about the authenticity of a photograph of him and his girlfriend which recently appeared in the media.
The frontrunner for the UK prime ministership is being accused of staging a photo between him and his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, 31, after a furious fight between the pair made headlines last week.
Police were called to the couple’s home on Friday after the pair had a very noisy row, in which Ms Symonds was reportedly recorded screaming at Mr Johnson to get off her.
Officers arrived at the home following a call from the neighbours but left shortly after.
Since news of the fight broke, the question of what happened has dominated Mr Johnson’s recent interviews.
Interest was amped up even more when a photo suddenly made its way into the media which seemed to show the pair had made up.
There was immediate speculation that the picture, which showed the pair sat together chatting at an outdoor table, was deliberately leaked by Mr Johnson’s campaign to smooth over his public relationship woes.
Despite appearing in newspapers on Monday and Tuesday, there were no details about when, where or by whom the picture was taken.
During a radio interview with Leading Britain's Conversation (LBC), presenter Nick Ferrari repeatedly pressed Mr Johnson about the photo.
Nick Ferrari is a Boris Johnson Hair Truther (cc @SamCoatesSky) pic.twitter.com/cFWnjQF5Kr
— William Kedjanyi (@KeejayOV2) June 25, 2019
He refused half a dozen times throughout the interview to comment on the picture.
When asked whether the photo had been leaked by his campaign, Mr Johnson sad it was “entirely up to newspapers to decide what they want to print”.
“This is quite an old picture isn’t it?” Mr Ferrari then asked.
At that point Mr Johnson reiterated he wasn’t going to comment on the photograph.
Many people are convinced the photo was taken a while ago, claiming he is sporting much longer hair in the picture than he has now.
Mr Ferrari brought up this point about his seemingly different haircut, but the UK politician branded the whole line of questioning as “beyond satire”.
Iâm told by the Boris Johnson campaign that the picture is genuinely from Sunday.
— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) June 24, 2019
Here - just to pass the time - is what Johnsonâs hair looked like on Saturday so everyone can compare and contrast
Still hoping copyright of Sunday photo released.... pic.twitter.com/4aimcLHuHG
Hi @BorisJohnson is a lookalike (with longer hair) having an affair with your girlfriend?
— Will Black (@WillBlackWriter) June 24, 2019
Because the #hustings pics were supposedly taken the day before the garden pic. The only other option is you LIED and used an old photo to give the illusion (LIE) of stability#BorisGate pic.twitter.com/LFCjExJNpr
When asked by Mr Ferrari to at least reveal where the picture was taken, Mr Johnson again refused to answer.
“It’s not a state secret; it just happens to be something that I don’t want to give to you,” he said.
Nick Ferrari: "Mr. Johnson when was the photo taken? It's old isn't it? Your hair's shorter now... Mr. Johnson?"
— David Stokes (@davidleestokes) June 25, 2019
Boris Johnson: pic.twitter.com/nXh8gZxdBL
On Monday, major Conservative Party donor John Griffin, said people “deserve an explanation” about the alleged fight between him and his partner.
“We deserve an explanation about that row, and he has to handle it properly. He can’t assume that we are going to support him when he has not explained every detail,” he told The Guardian.
“It is likely that he is going to become the PM and most members want to support him. But if I did anything wrong, I would need to explain. Because he hasn’t, it is a real worry.
“We need to know if he can be trusted because he will get even more attention from women if he becomes PM. I would be concerned if he went marauding around, taking advantage of women by using his position.”