Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign gains momentum with backing of senior MP Kit Malthouse

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Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign gained further momentum today with the backing of senior MP Kit Malthouse.

The housing minister, who just days ago pulled out of the race to succeed Theresa May, said that the ex-Mayor of London was the “only candidate” who can ensure Britain quits the EU and deliver an “optimistic, one-nation Conservative agenda”.

“I worked with Boris as Mayor. I saw the leadership he showed, the team he built, and the policies we delivered first hand,” Mr Malthouse, who was deputy mayor for policing, and later for business and enterprise, told The Standard. “Tacking poverty, cutting crime — particularly knife crime, building the homes people need and delivering a cleaner, greener city. What he did for London he can do for the whole of Britain.”

Mr Malthouse previously proposed a compromise agreement on Brexit which won favour with many Tories and his support came as more MPs in the party were swinging behind Mr Johnson, right.

Remain-voting minister Robert Buckland backed him to be Prime Minister to stop politics “changing for worse”, with the threat from the Brexit Party and rising nationalism. The justice minister, who has spoken against a no-deal Brexit, told how he had rejected the “safe option” and was instead “sticking my neck out here” to support Mr Johnson to be Tory leader. The former foreign secretary has vowed that if he gains the keys to No10 the UK will leave the EU on October 31, with or without a deal.

Mr Buckland believes Mr Johnson will put the “national interest first” when it comes to the crunch.

“I still absolutely stick by what I’ve said about a crash-out no deal,” he told Sky News. “However, Boris has clearly said that that is not his intention. His policy is to seek a deal and to seek an orderly departure from the EU.”

Mr Johnson’s challenge is likely to be keeping both Brexiteers and opponents of a no-deal on side when difficult decisions have to be taken.

He has about twice the MPs publicly backing him as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Environment Secretary Michael Gove. But he faces pressure to take part in leadership TV debates and do more media interviews so his proposed policies, including raising the threshold for paying the 40p rate of income tax from £50,000 to £80,000, can be scrutinised. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Everybody should participate in the proposed TV debates and I think we have got to ask the question, ‘why not?’”

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