London – The pressure on British Prime Minister BorisJohnson increased on Saturday when Conservative backbench MP TomTugendhat said he would run for prime minister if there was a leadership contest soon.
The ex-soldier and Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman toldTimes Radio: “I think I’m making it pretty clear that I think that it’s up to all of us to put ourselves forward. And it’s up to the electorate, in the first case parliamentary colleagues, and in the second case the party, to choose.”
He said he had not been “canvassing support,” but “of course, you should have a go.”
“I think it’s a position of absolute integrity to say that of course, you should offer yourself to the electorate if you think you can do it. Of course, you should talk to colleagues and see if you can get a group together, and if you can get a group together you should go for it,” he said.
On whether he would still like to be prime minister, after expressing interest in the past, he said: “It would be a huge privilege. It’s one of those questions that I know many people ask and some people, some of my colleagues, are coy about and I don’t understand why.
“I don’t think you should be embarrassed to want to serve your country. I was very proud to serve my country in the armed forces and I got to the highest rank I could so that I could have the best effect that I could. And I was very proud to serve as a diplomat around the world.”
