Chuka Umunna says PM aligned with ‘right wing, authoritarian nationalists’

Leading Liberal Democrat Chuka Umunna has launched a stinging attack on Boris Johnson who he says is unfit to be Prime Minister, accusing him of having said and done racist things.

In a wide-ranging speech, the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman said the PM had chosen to align himself with “right wing, authoritarian nationalists” on the world stage.

Asked if he thought Mr Johnson was racist, Mr Umunna told the PA news agency: “I think the things that he has said and done are racist.

“Only he in his heart knows whether he is a racist.”

Mr Umunna also attacked the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

He said: “And likewise with Jeremy Corbyn, Jeremy Corbyn has done things which, arguably, amount to anti-Jewish racism.

“And he has allowed anti-Jewish racism to proliferate in the party, the Labour Party, during his leadership.”

Speaking in Watford, Mr Umunna said he was not surprised by the “squeeze” the Lib Dems had received in the polls, but insisted voting for the party was the only way to stop a Tory majority.