Face of Nation : A blazing row between Conservative leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson, 55, and his 31-year-old girlfriend threatens to derail the former London mayor’s bid to become Prime Minister.
Police were called to the London home of Carrie Symonds in the early hours of Saturday morning after neighbours heard a loud fight between the couple including “slamming and banging”.
Ms Symonds is a former Conservative Party communications chief and has been dating Mr Johnson and working on his leadership campaign since he split with his third wife, Marina Wheeler, in September last year.
Ms Symond’s south London neighbour Tom Penn, 29, said he phoned police to report the incident after knocking three times on the door of the flat during the row. When there was no reply, he recorded the fight in which Ms Symonds can be heard yelling at Mr Johnson to “get out of my flat” and “get off me”, according to Guardian reports.
Mr Johnson can be heard refusing to leave, while Ms Symonds tells him he ruined a sofa with red wine.
“You just don’t care for anything because you’re spoiled. You have no care for money or anything,” she said.
Police who visited the scene said they were assured by both parties they were safe and well, however news of the fight exploded across Britain’s front pages over the weekend, sparking debate about the divide between public and private lives of politicians.
Mr Johnson has refused to publicly comment on the event, claiming it is a private matter the public is not interested in hearing about. However critics say the behaviour shows a worryingly volatile side to his personality and his repeated indiscretions could even lead him to be a “security risk” vulnerable to threats of blackmail.
Ms Symonds has remained silent on the issue and was pictured with Mr Johnson in the Sussex countryside on Monday. A friend of the couple said they are “love each other very much and want to get married as soon as the time is right.”
The fight has led to a huge amount of scrutiny on all members involved. Mr Penn and his wife Eve Leigh, 34, voted to remain in the EU referendum and their left wing political views have prompted questions about whether the recording was politically motivated. Mr Penn said he recorded the fight out of concern for the couple and shared it with a newspaper because he thought it was in the public interest.
Mr Johnson has been married three times and has had multiple affairs, including having a “love child”, according to reports. Ms Symonds has been described as a formidable campaigner who is the force behind Mr Johnson’s more disciplined approach to the leadership race in recent weeks. The pair worked together when she was seconded to his London mayoral campaign.
Mr Johnson is vying against Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt for the role of Prime Minister. The winner will be announced on July 23 after a series of hustings and a vote from Conservative members around the country.
On Monday Mr Hunt called him to “man up” and debate him on live television, saying he is “not interested” in his private life but wants to talk about Brexit plans and other ideas.
“Don’t be a coward Boris, man up and show the nation you can cope with the intense scrutiny the most difficult job in the country will involve,” he wrote in The Times.
Mr Johnson is committed to taking Britain out of the EU on October 31 with or without a deal, while Mr Hunt has said he would negotiate further with the EU.
