Boris Johnson news – live: PM rejects Trump call for Farage general election pact as head-to-head televised leaders debate announced
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson has rejected Donald Trump's advice to form a Brexit pact with Nigel Farage in the general election.
He told Sophy Ridge of Sky News that he has "ruled out a pact with everybody because I don't think it's sensible to do that".
Mr Farage says if Mr Johnson does not agree to a “Leave alliance”, he has 500 candidates ready to stand across Britain. Polling guru John Curtice said it was likely the Brexit Party would harm the Tories more than Labour if candidates were fielded across the country.
The prime minister's refusal of a pact came as ITV announced plans for a televised election debate in which he and Jeremy Corbyn will go head-to-head.
That's a wrap
Boris Johnson has had plenty to respond to after Donald Trump’s dramatic intervention in the UK election – and has rebuked the President’s claim his deal would not allow for a US trade deal while also ruling out a pact with Nigel Farage.
That pact, which would have seen the Brexit Party pull out of Tory safe seats to avoid splitting the vote, was announced announced by Mr Farage earlier today.
With the trials and tribulations of electoral agreements aside, the chance of it being taken on by the Tories was worsened by the arch-Brexiteer’s insistence the Conservatives also scrap Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal - a demand he announced at his party's campaign launch earlier today.
Meanwhile on the left of the spectrum the Liberal Democrats are less than pleased to find that they have been shut out of an election debate due to be held by ITV.
The Tories are said to have been agitating to discount other parties from debates beyond the official opposition – despite an uncommon surge in support for fringe parties looking to influence the poll.
That's all from the Independent live blog team today - thanks very much for reading.
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