Friday started poorly for the Conservatives. Clearly irritated by Boris Johnson’s determination to dodge an interview with him, Andrew Neil threw down the gauntlet on Thursday evening and the clip of what he said went viral throughout the day. Noting that Johnson was the first ever party leader to ever shirk these interviews Neil declared an interview was still possible, the theme of which would be “trust”.

Given that “so many” see Johnson as “untrustworthy” would he really deliver on the promises he had made in the manifesto. Given that Johnson claiming he thought “the truth matters” drew laughter in the first leader’s debate between him and Corbyn, this is a point that hits home.

Johnson was once editor of the Spectator, before leaving his post to pursue new opportunities. Andrew Neil was then and remains now chairman of the Spectator magazine.

But the suggestion that Johnson cannot be trusted seems to be the Labour line as well. Last week Labour handed out leaked documents that they claim showed Johnson had lied about his willingness to protect the NHS in any trade deal with the US. Today, deploying this strategy once more, Corbyn unveiled leaked government documents assessing Brexit’s impact on Northern Ireland. These, Corbyn claimed, showed that Johnson had once again lied. There would indeed be customs checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland despite Johnson’s promises otherwise.

It is not so much a question of why Johnson might fear doing the interview with Andrew Neil, but more a question of how he can find a legitimate excuse for not doing so.

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