The neighbour who alerted police about a loud row between Boris Johnson and partner has defended his actions, saying political leaders must be “held accountable for all of their words, actions and behaviours”.
The potential prime minister allegedly said “get off my f*****g laptop” before a loud crashing noise was heard.
In a recording of the altercation, obtained by The Guardian, Mr Johnson’s partner, Carrie Symonds, could reportedly be heard saying “get off me” and “get out of my flat”.
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Scotland Yard confirmed police were alerted to the situation by a caller who “was concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour”.
Neighbour Tom Penn told The Guardiansaid he had recorded the altercation from within his own home after collecting a food delivery at his front door.
Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson
Show all 5
Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson
1/5 Made-up quote for The Times
Johnson was sacked from The Times newspaper in the late 1980s after he fabricated a quote from his godfather, the historian Colin Lucas, for a front-page article about the discovery of Edward II’s Rose Palace. “The trouble was that somewhere in my copy I managed to attribute to Colin the view that Edward II and Piers Gaveston would have been cavorting together in the Rose Palace,” he claimed.
Alas, Gaveston was executed 13 years before the palace was built. “It was very nasty,” Mr Johnson added, before attempting to downplay it as nothing more than a schoolboy blunder.
PA
2/5 Sacked from cabinet over cheating lie
Michael Howard gave Boris Johnson two new jobs after becoming leader of the Conservatives in 2003 – party vice-chairman and shadow arts minister.
He was sacked from both positions in November 2004 after assuring Mr Howard that tabloid reports of his affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt were false and an “inverted pyramid of piffle”. When the story was found to be true, he refused to resign.
PA
3/5 Broken promise to boss
In 1999 Johnson was offered editorship of The Spectator by owner Conrad Black on the condition that he would not stand as an MP while in the post. In 2001 he stood - and was elected - MP for Henley, though Black did allow him to continue as editor despite calling "ineffably duplicitous"
PA
4/5 Misrepresenting the people of Liverpool
As editor of The Spectator, he was forced to apologise for an article in the magazine which blamed drunken Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and suggested that the people of the city were wallowing in their victim status.
“Anyone, journalist or politician, should say sorry to the people of Liverpool – as I do – for misrepresenting what happened at Hillsborough,” he said.
PA
5/5 ‘I didn’t say anything about Turkey’
Johnson claimed in January, that he did not mention Turkey during the EU referendum campaign. In fact, he co-signed a letter stating that “the only way to avoid having common borders with Turkey is to vote Leave and take back control”. The Vote Leave campaign also produced a poster reading: “Turkey (population 76 million) is joining the EU”
1/5 Made-up quote for The Times
Johnson was sacked from The Times newspaper in the late 1980s after he fabricated a quote from his godfather, the historian Colin Lucas, for a front-page article about the discovery of Edward II’s Rose Palace. “The trouble was that somewhere in my copy I managed to attribute to Colin the view that Edward II and Piers Gaveston would have been cavorting together in the Rose Palace,” he claimed.
Alas, Gaveston was executed 13 years before the palace was built. “It was very nasty,” Mr Johnson added, before attempting to downplay it as nothing more than a schoolboy blunder.
PA
2/5 Sacked from cabinet over cheating lie
Michael Howard gave Boris Johnson two new jobs after becoming leader of the Conservatives in 2003 – party vice-chairman and shadow arts minister.
He was sacked from both positions in November 2004 after assuring Mr Howard that tabloid reports of his affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt were false and an “inverted pyramid of piffle”. When the story was found to be true, he refused to resign.
PA
3/5 Broken promise to boss
In 1999 Johnson was offered editorship of The Spectator by owner Conrad Black on the condition that he would not stand as an MP while in the post. In 2001 he stood - and was elected - MP for Henley, though Black did allow him to continue as editor despite calling "ineffably duplicitous"
PA
4/5 Misrepresenting the people of Liverpool
As editor of The Spectator, he was forced to apologise for an article in the magazine which blamed drunken Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and suggested that the people of the city were wallowing in their victim status.
“Anyone, journalist or politician, should say sorry to the people of Liverpool – as I do – for misrepresenting what happened at Hillsborough,” he said.
PA
5/5 ‘I didn’t say anything about Turkey’
Johnson claimed in January, that he did not mention Turkey during the EU referendum campaign. In fact, he co-signed a letter stating that “the only way to avoid having common borders with Turkey is to vote Leave and take back control”. The Vote Leave campaign also produced a poster reading: “Turkey (population 76 million) is joining the EU”
Mr Penn said: ”After a loud scream and banging, followed by silence, I ran upstairs, and with my wife agreed that we should check on our neighbours.
“I knocked three times at their front door, but there was no response. I went back upstairs into my flat, and we agreed that we should call the police.
“The police arrived within five minutes. Our call was made anonymously and no names were given to the police. They subsequently called back to thank us for reporting, and to let us know that nobody was harmed.
“To be clear, the recordings were of the noise within my own home. My sole concern up until this point was the welfare and safety of our neighbours. I hope that anybody would have done the same thing.”
Mr Penn also defended revealing details of the incident to the newspaper.
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“Once clear that no-one was harmed, I contacted The Guardian, as I felt it was of important public interest,” he said.
“I believe it is reasonable for someone who is likely to become our next prime minister to be held accountable for all of their words, actions and behaviours.
“I, along with a lot of my neighbours all across London, voted to remain within the EU. That is the extent of my involvement in politics.”
On Thursday, the day before the police became involved, a Survation poll put the former foreign minister on an eight-point lead among all voters over his rival, Jeremy Hunt, but he had dropped three points behind the foreign secretary on Saturday.
Among Tory voters, Mr Johnson’s lead dropped from 27 per cent to 11 per cent in the same period.
When all voters were asked about the incident made them more or less likely to back Mr Johnson as leader, more than a third (35 per cent) said less likely, while just 9 per cent said more likely.
More than half of all voters, 53 per cent, said Mr Johnson’s private life was relevant to his ability to be prime minister, and three quarters said that a person’s character was “relevant” to the contest.
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