Hunt will not say if he thinks PM is ‘honest’

JEREMY HUNT has declined to say whether Boris Johnson is an honest man.

The former health minister also refused to rule himself out of a future Tory leadership contest.

Asked on the BBC’S Sunday Morning programme whether Mr Johnson is “an honest man” in the wake of the partygate scandal, Mr Hunt hesitated and then said that “talking about personalities is not a helpful thing to do” when faced with a “serious” international situation such as the Ukraine war.

Questioned by presenter Sophie Raworth on whether the Prime Minister was the best person to lead the Tory party into the next election, Mr Hunt answered: “I very much hope so.

“I hope he can turn things round, because, as I say, I don’t think this is the moment for a leadership contest.”

Despite being backed by nearly all of the senior Scottish Tories at the time, Mr Hunt lost out to Mr Johnson in the 2019 Tory leadership contest, finishing a very distant second.

Asked if he would consider running for the top job if there was to be another vacancy, he told the BBC: “I don’t rule out a return to frontline politics myself, but I don’t think now is the right moment.”