Tory by-election candidate refuses to say if Boris Johnson is honest

Tiverton candidate Helen Hurford claimed question is designed to ‘catch me out’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson departs 10 Downing Street, Westminster, London, to attend Prime Minister’s Questions (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)

A Conservative candidate at an upcoming by-election has refused to say whether she believes Boris Johnson is honest, in the latest blow for the prime minister.

Helen Hurford, who is standing to retain the seat of Tiverton and Honiton for the governing party, also criticised the media’s “persistent regurgitating of Partygate”.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper the ex-headteacher twice declined to endorse the prime minister's honesty.