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Police called to Boris Johnson's home over reports of loud altercation with girlfriend: ‘Get off me’

The Tory leadership contender's camp declined to comment on reports

Andrew Woodcock
Political Editor
Friday 21 June 2019 20:01 BST
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Boris Johnson will walk into Conservative leadership hustings under a cloud of controversy after police were called to the home he shares with partner Carrie Symonds in the early hours of Friday.

Officers attended the couple's property following a call from a neighbour, who had allegedly heard a loud altercation from inside the south London flat hours after Mr Johnson secured his place in the final round of voting for the succession to Theresa May as Tory leader.

Scotland Yard confirmed that police had attended an incident in the Camberwell area, but said that there was no evidence of offences or other cause for concern. No arrests were made.

A spokesman for the potential prime minister declined to discuss what had happened, saying only: “No comment.”

The couple’s next door neighbour, who only gave her name as Fatimah, said she had: “heard a lady shouting” after midnight.

“I couldn’t make out what she said, then I heard plates and glasses smashing and things being thrown around,” she added.

“I was watching something on the television and I had to mute it because I was quite concerned, it was coming through the walls.

“It lasted for just under 10 minutes, and a police car turned up first, and then a police van a few minutes later.”

One neighbour claimed screaming had been heard from inside the property, along with a woman allegedly saying “Get off me” and “Get out of my flat”.

The neighbour made a recording of the altercation, on which a man can allegedly be heard saying “get off my f***ing laptop”. On the tape, obtained by The Guardian, a woman’s voice can be heard complaining that a sofa had been damaged with red wine and saying: “You just don’t care for anything because you’re spoilt. You have no care for money or anything.”

Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson (Getty)

The neighbour told the newspaper: “There was a smashing sound of what sounded like plates. There was a couple of very loud screams and she was shouting to ‘get out’ a lot.

“She was saying ‘get out of my flat’ and he was saying no. And then there was silence after the screaming. My wife, who was in bed half asleep, had heard a loud bang and the house shook.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “At 00:24hrs on Friday, 21 June police responded to a call from a local resident in the SE5 area of Camberwell.

“The caller was concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour.

“Police attended and spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well.

“There were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action.”

Mr Johnson, 55, left his wife Marina Wheeler last year and began a relationship with Ms Symonds, 31, who is a former head of press for the Conservative Party. She has been credited with sharpening up his image ahead of the leadership race by encouraging him to lose weight and get a better haircut.

The former foreign secretary is set to take part in a series of 16 Tory leadership hustings alongside Jeremy Hunt across Britain starting on Saturday, when the pair will square-off in Birmingham.

There was no comment from the camp of his rival Mr Hunt.

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