Boris in talks with broadcasters over debate

BORIS JOHNSON is in talks with Sky and ITV about taking part in a televised hustings with other Tory leadership candidates.

The former foreign secretary is understood to be committed to taking part in a debate, despite warnings from some of his supporters that as the front runner he has the most to lose.

Eight other leadership candidates have also said they would take part in a live hustings, with the BBC also vying for the right to screen them.

Yesterday, the BBC tried to steal a march on its rivals by announcing its schedule for the debates, despite none of the candidates being given any notice or agreeing to the plan.

The BBC said it would “invite” the candidates to take part in a debate in mid-june between all those still left in the race at that point, chaired by the Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis.

It also said that the final two candidates would take part in a Question Time-style event with a live audience, hosted by Fiona Bruce, as well as being offered one-on-one interviews with Andrew Neil.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said that he had been in talks with ITV and Sky for several days but had not yet been approached by the BBC.

It would be the first time a Tory leadership race had been subject to the sort of live television event that has become the centrepiece of general elections in the past decade.

The Conservative leadership race will formally begin on June 10, when nominations will close. MPS will whittle down the list to a final two through a series of knockout rounds of voting, which is expected to take a week.

The final two candidates will then travel the country speaking directly to members, who will then choose the winner.

The Conservative Party had previously said it wanted to open up such events beyond the membership, so that non-members and even non-tory voters would have a chance to scrutinise the final two candidates.

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, who has been pushing for a debate, said he was “delighted” the hustings would be televised, adding: “This is a contest that affects the whole country, so we should engage the whole country in this process.”