Boris Johnson stands accused of “running scared” from public scrutiny as the prime minister is set to dodge another TV grilling.
ITV has confirmed that Johnson plans to duck an interview on ITV’s Tonight with Julie Etchingham.
It comes after Johnson has ignored repeated calls to agree to the same 30-minute interrogation other party leaders have faced with the BBC’s Andrew Neil.
A statement from ITV said: “Every other leader of Great Britain’s main political parties that has been approached has done an interview for Tonight.”
Interviews with Etchingham and Neil have proved to be devastating encounters for Johnson’s opponents.
Jeremy Corbyn’s interview with Neil, described as a “bloodbath” and “brutal” by commentators, saw the Labour leader taken to task over anti-Semitism allegations, Brexit and his spending plans.
Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson, meanwhile, was forced to apologise for backing austerity policies like the bedroom tax when her party was in coalition with the Conservatives.
Etchingham’s grilling of Corbyn saw the Labour leader pressed hard on his party’s manifesto and threw up questions, picked up by some newspapers, over whether he watched the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day.
The Conservatives have been in power for almost a decade and numerous controversial comments made by Johnson in the past - such as describing the children of single mums as “ill-raised, ignorant, aggressive and illegitimate - would also come under intense scrutiny.
Chair of the Labour Party Ian Lavery hit out at Johnson, saying: “Boris Johnson thinks he’s born to rule and doesn’t have to face scrutiny.
“He’s running scared because every time he is confronted with the impact of nine years of austerity, the cost of living crisis and his plans to sell out our NHS, the more he is exposed.”
Johnson has agreed to numerous interviews, including with Andrew Marr and Robert Peston, among others.
When asked by Marr why he wouldn’t agree to a quizzing by Neil, Johnson chose his words carefully.
“I’m perfectly happy to be interviewed by any interviewer called Andrew from the BBC,” he said.
HuffPost UK has approached the Conservative Party for comment.