Today’s political headlines includes Hunt accusing Johnson of cowardice, Johnson and Symonds have been driven out of their flat, and Johnson’s Brexit stance while being contradicted over no-deal tariff claims.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Hunt accuses Johnson of cowardice Anarchists drive Johnson and Symonds out of flat Johnson says he won\u2019t \u2018bottle\u2019 Brexit Cox and Fox contradict Johnson over no-deal tariff claims Hunt says UK would consider joining US attack on Iran NHS boss raises prospect of compulsory tax on gambling firms Most types of Brexit to worsen UK\u2019s finances Report claims current technology could make backstop obsolete
\n<\/strong>Writing<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0The Times<\/em>, Jeremy Hunt accuses Boris Johnson of being a \u2018coward\u2019 who is willing to \u2018slink through the back door\u2019 of 10 Downing Street while avoiding being questioned, telling him to \u2018man up\u2019. He has been refusing to provide an explanation of the incident at the flat he shares with his partner, Carrie Symonds, which led to police being called after neighbours heard screaming. Johnson has also only agreed to participate in two broadcast debates, both of which will only take place after ballot papers are sent to members.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>, Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds have been forced to go into hiding after anarchists from the group Class War staged a protest outside their flat, with a friend of the couple telling the paper that the couple have \u2018a very loving and stable relationship\u2019 and have \u2018spent the weekend together\u2019. The\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Johnson\u2019s friends claim that he is \u2018yearning\u2019 to be with his estranged wife, while\u00a0The Sun<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that the row followed a series of four over the last six weeks in what a friend described as \u2018an incredibly volatile relationship\u2019, including the couple nearly splitting up earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Boris Johnson has\u00a0used<\/a>\u00a0his column in\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0to promise that he won\u2019t \u2018bottle\u2019 Brexit and that \u2018we can, we must and we will leave\u2019 the European Union on 31 October. He also claims that once Brexit has been completed, the focus should be to \u2018turbocharge\u2019 the economy, promising higher pay not higher taxes.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox has told the Government that, despite claims by Boris Johnson, the UK would probably not be able to maintain its existing tariff-free trade with the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit, even for a time-limited period. Cox\u2019s stance has also been backed by International Trade Secretary Liam Fox.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>In an\u00a0exclusive<\/a>, the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0reports that Foreign Secretary and leadership contender Jeremy Hunt has said that the UK would consider joining a US-led military attack on Iran, but that it would do so \u2018on a case-by-case basis\u2019. He added that Iran should \u2018stop its destabilising activity throughout the Middle East\u2019 and said that it was \u2018almost certainly\u2019 responsible for recent sabotage to oil tankers.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Simon Stevens, the head of NHS England, has said that the voluntary levy on the gambling industry wasn\u2019t raising enough to pay for the treatment of addicts and \u2018the possibility of a mandatory levy\u2019 should be left open. Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said he was \u2018determined to do everything I can to help anyone affected\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that a new report by the UK in a Changing Europe thinktank finds that most types of Brexit would lead to the UK\u2019s finances becoming worse, giving the country less capacity to tackle issues such as child poverty, social care and left-behind communities.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0carries details<\/a>\u00a0of a new report by the thinktank Prosperity UK, which claims that a hard border on the island of Ireland could be prevented using existing technology to deliver \u2018invisible\u2019 customs checks, making the backstop \u2018obsolete\u2019 within three years. The report was led by Nicky Morgan and Greg Hands and is supported by Brexiteers such as Iain Duncan Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker.<\/p>\n