Tory by-election candidate refuses to say if Boris Johnson is honest

A Conservative candidate at an upcoming by-election has refused to say whether she believes Boris Johnson is honest, in the latest blow for the prime minister.

Helen Hurford, who is standing to retain the seat of Tiverton and Honiton for the governing party, also criticised the media’s “persistent regurgitating of Partygate”.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper the ex-headteacher twice declined to endorse the prime minister's honesty.

“I think Boris thinks that he is an honest person. How I conduct myself is how I conduct myself, and I think you are trying to catch me out here," she told the newspaper.

The prime minister has been accused of lying to parliament over his illegal lockdown partying, for which he was fined.

Critics also point out that he has been sacked for lying from previous jobs as a journalist and a Tory opposition frontbencher.

The Liberal Democrats believe they could be on course to take the Devon seat from the Tories after the resignation of MP Neil Parish for looking at pornography in parliament.

A spokesperson for the opposition party said it was "astounding that Helen Hurford cannot even say if Boris Johnson is honest, yet still supports him as Prime Minister".

“Tiverton & Honiton has been taken for granted by the Conservatives for decades, and it’s clear voting for Boris Johnson’s candidate will not change this."

The prime minister faces a dual by-election test next week, both in the south-west seat and in Wakefield – where Labour has mounted a campaign to recapture the red wall seat.

His candidate in Wakefield Nadeem Ahmed, also raised eyebrows on Thursday after he said his predecessor Imran Ahmad Khan was "one bad apple" and "we still trust GPs after Harold Shipman killed hundreds of people".

Mr Khan was stood down as MP after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. He was jailed for 18 months.