Birmingham: Boris Johnson, the favourite to be the next British Prime Minister, reiterated his desire to leave the European Union in October with or without a deal as he avoided questions at a campaign event on Saturday about a police visit to his home.

Johnson, a leading figure in the 2016 referendum campaign to leave the European Union, had raised some doubts about his commitment to leave by the latest deadline when he described it as only "eminently feasible" in a televised debate this week.

"Eminently feasible means it's not only that we are going to do it but that it's possible to do it because it's eminently feasible. Of course we can do it," Johnson told the first of 16 leadership hustings events.

The meeting saw Johnson and his remaining rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, each make their pitch to Conservative Party members who will vote to choose one of them as their next leader – and thus the next prime minister.

The result of the postal ballot will be announced in the week of July 22.

Johnson, Hunt's predecessor at the Foreign Office, said people had a right to ask questions about his character, after the police were called to investigate concerns for the welfare of a woman in his home, but said his record in office showed he could be prime minister.

Police said there was no reason to take further action after checking up on Johnson and girlfriend Carrie Symonds in the early hours of Friday.

Avoiding further questions about the matter at the hustings, Johnson said party members would not be interested in hearing about it, to applause from the audience.

"I think what they want to hear is what my plans are for the country and for my party," he told the event in Birmingham, central England.

Johnson, 55, who served as London mayor for eight years, has cast himself as the only candidate who can deliver Brexit on Oct. 31 while fighting off the electoral threats of Nigel Farage's Brexit Party and socialist Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.

Reuters

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