‘Don’t be a coward, Boris’
BRITISH Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stepped up his attacks yesterday on front runner Boris Johnson in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister, challenging him to face public scrutiny amid the fallout from a reported quarrel with his girlfriend that prompted a police visit.
Writing in the Times of London, Hunt said Johnson needed to earn the public’s trust by facing television debates before 160 000 Conservative Party members vote on which one of them should lead the party. The winner of the contest will replace Theresa May, who stepped down as party leader after failing to secure parliament’s approval for her EU divorce deal.
“Don’t be a coward, Boris,” Hunt wrote. “Man up and show the nation you can cope with the intense scrutiny the most difficult job in the country will involve.”
Sky News invited Johnson and Hunt to a debate today, but cancelled the session because Johnson refused to take part. The broadcaster has invited both candidates to another debate on July 1.
Johnson is the favourite in the race against Hunt but he has faced criticism for avoiding media appearances and debates. Such concerns have been heightened by Johnson’s refusal to comment on the incident that brought officers to his door early Friday, when a neighbour reported hearing shouting, screaming and banging from the home that Johnson shares with partner Carrie Symonds.
Asked about the police visit several times during a Conservative forum on Saturday, Johnson said the public did not want to “hear about that kind of thing”. Johnson, who is known for attention-getting antics and glibly offensive comments, said the public should judge his character from his track record as mayor of London and as Britain’s former foreign secretary.
The argument, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, was recorded by a neighbour, Tom Penn. In the recording, Symonds reportedly can be heard telling Johnson to “get off me”, and to “get out of my flat”. Penn said he was concerned for the welfare of those inside.
“Once clear that no one was harmed, I contacted the Guardian, as I felt it was of important public interest,” Penn 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.”
Johnson’s supporters suggested that Penn was motivated by his opposition to Johnson’s political views, a claim that Penn denies.
The incident has dominated the nation’s newspapers. The Daily Mail said Johnson’s “latest imbroglio” had “all the hallmarks of a stitch-up”. But the paper said Johnson “can’t let it fester”, adding: “The story is out there and millions are talking about it.” UN HUMAN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said yesterday that 55 000 captured Islamic State (IS) fighters, including foreigners, and their families detained in Syria and Iraq should face fair trials or be freed.
States “must assume responsibility for their nationals” and should not inflict statelessness on fighters’ children who have already suffered so much, Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council as it opened a threeweek session in Geneva.
The 55 000 included suspected foreign fighters from nearly 50 countries and 11 000 family members held at the al-Hol camp in north-eastern Syria “in deeply substandard conditions”, she said.
“Accountability through fair trials protects societies from future radicalisation and violence,” Bachelet said. “And the continuing detention of individuals not suspected of crimes, in the absence of a lawful basis and regular independent judicial review, is not acceptable,” Bachelet said.
Authorities in north-east Syria have been urging Western countries to take back citizens who joined IS and their relatives after the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured the group’s last enclave this year.
“Foreign family members should be repatriated unless they are to be prosecuted for crimes in accordance with international standards. Children, in particular, have suffered grievous violations of their rights – including those who may have been indoctrinated or recruited by IS to perpetrate violent acts,” Bachelet said.
Few countries have seemed willing to take back their citizens, who may be hard to prosecute, and the issue has led to fierce debate in their home countries where there is little public sympathy for the families of jihadists.
The US, France and the Netherlands have each repatriated a small number of women or children from north-east Syria, but many others remain there.
Some children born during the conflict have been left stateless.
“To inflict statelessness on children who have already suffered so much is an act of irresponsible cruelty,” Bachelet said.
“I urge all states to assume responsibility for their nationals, and to work together to provide resources to help the relevant authorities and actors in Syria and Iraq to address urgent humanitarian needs,” she said.