Leaders neck and neck after debate

BORIS Johnson and Jeremy Corby n were almost inseparable in the eyes of viewers after a series of heated exchanges during the first televised debate of the General Election.

Mr Johnson edged a snap YouGov poll 51-49 although Labour figures were pleased with the showing of their leader in the prime-time ITV slot.

The pair clashed over their rival plans for Brexit, with Mr Corbyn describing the prime minister’s pledge to “get Brexit done” by the end of January as “nonsense”, while

Mr Johnson suggested his rival was “not fit to lead our country”.

Mr Corbyn also accused the Government of entering into secret talks with the US to open the NHS to American pharmaceutical companies in a future trade deal.

But Mr Johnson hit back, denouncing the claims as “an absolute invention”, insisting there were “no circumstances whatsoever” in which a Conservative government would put the NHS “on the table”.

He said the Labour leader was trying to disguise the “void” at the heart of his Brexit policy, which meant he was unable to say which way he would vote in Labour’s planned second referendum.

He accused Mr Corbyn of being prepared to strike a deal with the SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon to get the votes he needs to enter No 10 at the price of a second referendum on Scottish independence, something the Labour leader rejected.

YouGov’s poll, which surveyed 1,646 viewers, also found Mr Johnson appeared more prime ministerial, although Mr Corbyn was considered more trustworthy.

The Conservatives also courted controversy for changing their Twitter handle to “factcheckUK” for the ITV debate, prompting factchecking organisation Full Fact to label it “inappropriate and misleading”.

Handshake finale between Conservative Boris Johnson and Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn after the televised debate.