Listen: Andrew Marr's guest of the day: Boris Johnson

"With the Conservatives gathering in Manchester for their party conference. Boris Johnson was Andrew Malls Primary guest of the day mall pressed the Prime Minister and whether his goal of leaving the e u by the Thirty First Tober was still relatives will now that parliament has passed the Ben Act. The Act requires Johnson to ask for an extension to the deadline if a deal cannot be reached the EU on October the thirty first without your deal of course we can say something very different. How'd you get around the Ben. Act everyone stretching there is always on various possibilities about this suggestions days papers you could use. EU Law as being superior to expect too great respect to Andrew. I'm not going to discuss a hypothetical. Have you spoken to any other EU heads of state and asked them to veto an extension. I certainly I'm not going to go into the the discussions. I'm having the other. EU heads of state route taps it is certainly true that other EU countries also also they want to keep dragging on and they don't want the U K to remain in the EU truculence and mutinous and in limbo and not wishing to cooperate in the way that they would like they want good deal. Does the opportunity now to get a good deal what I would alike is for the government to be able to get on and and do that deal and we're working very hard. I'm not going to pretend to you that it's going to be easy but they don't. They very exciting. You think they don't want another extension. I think there probably are divided views but I think there's a a strong view just as there is in this country there's a strong view across the EU that it's time to move on a short way out of this great dot. Eh might be that right at the laws of the European Council in two weeks. You say I said I'd rather die in addiction and do this this surrender document. I'm therefore not going to do it. I'm going to stand down as prime minister. Would you look I I've undertaken to lead the party in my country. It's a difficult time and I'm getting to continue to to do that. I believe it's my responsibility to do that and I think that it's our job to to get bricks. Donald October the thirty first but to move the country on on March also asked about the prime minister's use of language after he appeared to dismiss a labor. NPR concerns about death threats as Humbug Suen Paula Sheriff raised the subject of death threats being made against her in the House of Commons. You describe that as Humbug well. That's not true. That's quite right. If I come into saying what I hear you you're right that I use that word but what I was referring to and I want to make a very important distinction between that issue of threats Jason Abuse Directed at NPS which is totally unacceptable in which we have to prevent and what I think is the legitimate use of old tried and trusted metaphors to describe certain parliamentary at so indeed events in politics and if you if he's off you cannot use a metaphor like surrender to describe the surrender act view your impoverishing the language and and diminishing diminishing parliamentary debate now I was the that was the point I was making. If I just WANNA I just I just breaking with a one second because he was vaguely. What was going on. Gee said I've had death threats against you. You describe her words as humble humbug means speaking falsely me Internet. Do you think she was speaking do you do you regret using that word about what she said. My use of the word Humbug was in the context of people trying to prevent me us from using the word surrender. Another controversy has been the prime minister's relationship with the American businesswoman. Jennifer Curie occurring notably accompanied Johnson on three business trips while he was mayor of Lyndon reportedly received over one hundred thousand pounds of taxpayers money for business and you signed said holders of Public Public Office in this case you should act solely in terms of the public interests. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other benefits for themselves their families or their friends. It certainly a friend of yours. Did you declare that address. I what I can tell I can tell you is that I am very very proud of everything everything that we did in city hall to promote the public interest digital birds interests of London and everything was done in accordance with the code that you have just interest and everything was done with full propriety so you did declare the interest and you'll be able to say that when you know everything was done on inequality is giving specific price. You have to declare interest. Did you interest to declare because a friend. If you go public let's be clear. I'm very very very proud of everything that we did and suddenly everything I did as mayor of London so I taking legal tax realistic. If you're in my position what do we expect a lot of shot and shell mouth and speak to Labour's shuttle. Education Nations Secretary Angelina rain sharply criticised the prime minister remarks. He made in the Commons last week while I'm really disappointed with the prime minister at the moment because he knows that he's he's got a direct strategy to divide our country. You know every politician wants to dale wants to get through the brexit situation. We're in and to suggest in any way that we're surrender and not wanting to do the best buy alcon traffic is really damaging especially as a diabetic strategy from Norton. I think you should be absolutely ashamed of himself. I want to thank his colleagues who better than Him who have offered women parliamentarians across the board support when they've been getting a lot of misogynistic death threats and abuse the problem them with the language and there's no doubt the country's divided and very angry is that it's on both sides Brendan Cox has said has made this point very directly that he's not just the conservative aside or indeed. The leaves of the is the other side as well. You'll both at it and it's time he was suggesting for both sides including the Labor Party to die down a bit absolutely certainly agree the sides of the debate there is a lot of anger out there we have a responsibility now as parliamentarians doubt language and act responsibly away okay so when it comes to colleagues like David Lemme who on this program compared the European research group of Tory. MP's to Nazis and then refused to apologize to that or to WHO Lloyd Russell Moyle who shouted this week. These stories are dirty dirty chaos mongering people that we will have to sweep out of this country. That's the kind of language from your side of the House. You would also deplore yes. I think all that language has to Stop Safety Ridge interviewed the leader of the Brexit party Niger fraud rich asked for all about his author eleven electoral pact with the Conservatives at the next election and the Conservative Party said that they want to patent with you in fact they said the opposite so he actually had any conversations about it with the here's the point if you look at the European elections where you know the six week hold posse won the national polls. Look where we scored the highest. We scored the highest in northeast of England. We scored the highest in parts of South Wales. We were getting our biggest schools. In Labor. Areas visa parts of the country. The Conservative Party have never won. I'll not GonNa win and yet we all the challenges in those seats. There is polling evidence that says thirty percent of of Labor voters would if I said to them. Hold your nose vote conservative in this election in those marginals. I could actually personally help to swing some four Boris. Here is a way here is a way for Boris to get a big workable majority. We can help with that. We're happy to help with that but it's go to the right policy standing in this election of course I'll stand I will I will lead the judge them off of the BREXIT party. I haven't said yet because the most enormous distraction so no I will leave it right to the end which also question fraud. JV His choice of words after a recent speech he made in Newport. You criticised overpay pen pushers. Whitehall who are not doing neutral job and then you said once Brexit is done. We'll take the knife to them. I mean when is that not if not only a deeply inappropriate things to say even a dangerous thing to say well Labor. MP's who specifically said they would knife life Jeremy Corbyn all sorts of reasons it would be much better says it would have been better. It would have been better to say ax. I should've said we'll take the axe to Whitehall because that's a more traditional. Although you can go back to our burden he was known as Mac the knife if you wanted to now acts would have been a better term but equally you could still say to me well. That's an aggressive phrase. His the point all of this is a massive distraction that is coming from the remain as who wants a halt the the democratic process in this country"

Coffee House Shots

Andrew Marr's guest of the day: Boris Johnson

Coffee House Shots

2 months ago

Coming up next