Rishi Sunak says the No 10 parties have damaged public faith in Boris Johnson, but has insisted he still supports the beleaguered prime minister.
The favourite to take over as Tory leader – if Mr Johnson is deposed – pointed to the need to “restore people’s trust” after the scandal and the ongoing police probe into breaches of Covid rules.
Asked if Mr Johnson “always told the truth, the chancellor replied: “Yes, of course he does. He’s the prime minister of the United Kingdom.”
But, asked if trust had been hit, he said: “Yes, I think it has. I can appreciate people’s frustration. And I think it’s now the job of all of us in government, all politicians, to restore people’s trust.”
Asked if he will be a contender if there is a leadership race, Mr Sunak said: “No, that’s not what I’m focused on.”
The chancellor has mounted an ill-disguised campaign to raise his profile and is the public’s favourite to succeed Mr Johnson, if Partygate forces him out.
In a BBC interview he was asked if he had attended the cabinet room birthday celebrations for the prime minister in June 2020 – one of the gatherings now being investigated.
He replied that he could not remember details, saying: “You’re asking me about something that happened almost two years ago.”
Arguing he had been in the cabinet room “100, 200, God knows how many times”, Mr Sunak added: “I walked into a meeting with a group of people as I do all of the time.”
The growing list of Tory MPs demanding a no-confidence vote in Mr Johnson’s leadership has prompted speculation that Mr Sunak could quit No 11 to force a contest.
But, asked about colleagues making him a frontrunner, Mr Sunak said: “That’s very kind of them to suggest that. But what I think people want from me is to focus on my job.
“I know a few of my colleagues have said that, and they’ll have their reasons for doing that, but I don’t think that’s the situation we’re in. The prime minister has my full support.”
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