Boris Johnson given 24 hour police protection amid concerns of random attack
BORIS JOHNSON has been given 24 hour police protection for the duration of the Tory leadership contest amid security concerns, according to new reports.
The Tory leadership frontrunner was issued with his own armed officers by the Metropolitan Police’s Protection Command following a review of his personal security, according to The Sun. Although Mr Johnson is not thought to be under any specific threat, there is concern surrounding the attention the leadership race could generate. The race for No. 10 could spark a random attack on the campaign trail.
Senior police officers made the decision after speaking with Tory HQ.
They decided to offer leadership rival Jeremy Hunt and Mr Johnson with a protection team and police drivers and vehicles.
Mr Hunt already as a 24 hour team of armed bodyguards thanks to his current role as Foreign Secretary.
However, more security could see Mr Johnson forced to give up his bike.
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A friend said: “Boris loves his bike, but he’s also very used to having police officers around as they were with him through out two years in the Foreign Office”.
The Met Police refused to comment and said they do not discuss protective security matters.
Mr Johnson led in a poll of Tory members with 67 percent saying he was the best choice for leader compared to Mr Hunt’s 29 percent.
It comes as claims were made by the BBC on Friday morning that Mrs May had excluded the former Foreign Secretary from security briefings.
However, they have allegedly been criticised for giving the story prominence, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Downing Street has faced claims that Mrs May excluded Mr Johnson in a bid to undermine him.
Mr Johnson said it was “not true” that information had been held back from him.
He added he was "extremely dubious about the provenance" of the story, according to The Sun.