The Metropolitan Police have been accused of attempting to cover up a domestic incident between the current favourite to become the next Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds – an “altercation” in which police were called out after neighbours reported hearing Ms Symonds screaming at Mr Johnson to “get off” of her and for him to “get out” of her flat.

Earlier today, extraordinary details of the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Friday morning at the flat shared between Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds, began to emerge.

According to The Guardian, police were called to the flat “after neighbours heard a loud altercation involving screaming, shouting and banging“:

“A neighbour told the Guardian they heard a woman screaming followed by “slamming and banging”. At one point Symonds could be heard telling Johnson to “get off me” and “get out of my flat”.

The neighbour said that after becoming concerned they knocked on the door but received no response. “I [was] hoping that someone would answer the door and say ‘We’re okay’. I knocked three times and no one came to the door.”

The neighbour decided to call 999. Two police cars and a van arrived within minutes, shortly after midnight, but left after receiving reassurances from both the individuals in the flat that they were safe.”

However, when contacted by journalists, the police denied having any record of the incident taking place.

It was only when they were provided with the case number and reference number, as well as identification markings of the vehicles that were called out were, that police finally told the truth – issuing a statement giving only a few details:

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“Police attended and spoke to all occupants of the address, who were all safe and well. There were no offences or concerns apparent to the officers and there was no cause for police action.”

Given that Mr Johnson is currently the odds on favourite to become the next Prime Minister, the shocking details will almost certainly have an effect on his campaign going forward.

Given their initial denials, some have accused the police of attempting to cover up the incident for Mr Johnson to spare him from such scrutiny:

And the fact that the police seem to have tried to cover up the 'domestic incident' at Boris Johnson's home last night – until it became clear that the Guardian had detailed account from a neighbour – is absolutely shocking — Kate Williams (@KateVWilliams) June 21, 2019

https://twitter.com/Duncan_S_Muir/status/1142143014091051008

A striking line in this: “Police initially said they had no record of a domestic incident at the address.” https://t.co/yjfDAA4Mhc — George Eaton (@georgeeaton) June 21, 2019

Denying anything happened is a wilful cover up attempt. They would not do that for a domestic incident between two members of the public. — Ed Reid (@EdwardReid_) June 21, 2019

The incident involving Mr Johnson and his girlfriend comes just hours after another Tory MP, Mark Field, was suspended from the Cabinet after shoving a peaceful female Greenpeace protester into a pillar, grabbing her by the neck and frogmarching her out of of a posh bankers’ banquet.