Emma Barnett takes Tory MP to task over Boris Johnson's claims about a no-deal Brexit

Boris Johnson's bid to become Tory leader and prime minister hasn't been as easy as he perhaps anticipated.

Accusations about his private life, combined with a domestic incident, which he has been vague on so far, hasn't helped improve his image, with polls suggesting that some Conservative members now prefer Jeremy Hunt for the role.

However, he does still have a lot of support from his fellow Tory MPs and they have been doing their most to stick up for their chosen man, no matter how many inconsistencies are prevalent in his policies.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Emma Barnett, Daniel Kawczynski, who has backed Johnson to be PM, was quizzed over Brexit and whether the UK could get a free trade deal in a no-deal Brexit.

Barnett wanted to get a better understanding of something called Gatt 24, which is an obscure trade rule that could apparently assist Britain in a no-deal.

This is reportedly something that Johnson believes and has said it during debates, but isn't entirely accurate as Barnett would point out to Kawczynski.

I'm not debating if it is no-deal or not. I'm debating if a key detail that Boris Johnson gave about the Gatt 24 rule is wrong.

Kawczynski replied:

If Mr Johnson puts forward these proposals they are going to be scrutinised with a fine tooth comb for the next 16 public debates between him and Mr Hunt. 

Luckily, we are going to have a public debate on that issue which didn't happen last time when there was a coronation of the prime minister and there was no debate. 

That's one of the reasons we got into this mess that we are in at the moment.

Barnett was forced to interject as she felt Kawczynski was avoiding the question.

Could you just answer the question, does it not worry you that Mr Johnson has misunderstood a key aspect of policy?

Kawczynski claimed that Johnson hadn't misunderstood it at all.

I don't think that he has misunderstood it and we will have to asses whether or not the technical aspects of what he is proposing, he has done that in conjunction with his advisors, he believes that this is a proper and sensible way to negotiate with the European Union.

We will have to wait and see. 

Barnett was unsatisfied with this answer and even pointed out that Liam Fox, the secretary for international trade, had publicly said that Johnson was wrong about Gatt 24.

He responded by doubling down on his earlier statement.

His Brexit policy is going to be scrutinised by the media and people like you. I don't believe he is incorrect.

Barnett was then forced to ask him: "Because you don't believe facts?"

The clip has since become something of a viral hit and many people have praised Barnett for her questioning of Kawczynski.

HT The Poke

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