Tory chairman seeks to play down impact of Boris Johnson’s conference appearance

Tory chairman Brandon Lewis said Boris Johnson’s appearance at the party’s conference was an indication of the “range of meetings” at the gathering.

Mr Lewis sought to play down the impact of the former foreign secretary’s speech on the eve of Theresa May’s closing address at the conference in Birmingham.

Mr Johnson’s activities at the conference will fuel speculation about his leadership ambitions, but Mr Lewis said his opposition to the Government’s Brexit plan was not new and the Prime Minister’s blueprint remained the only option on the table.

Asked if Mr Johnson’s presence was a distraction, Mr Lewis told the Press Association: “Actually one of the great things about the Conservative Party conference is the phenomenal amount of fringe events, members’ events, the opportunity for members to hear from people all across our party, both in Parliament and outside Parliament.”

He added “the more events we have got, the better”.

Mr Johnson has branded the Prime Minister’s Chequers plan “deranged” and compared it to putting a “suicide vest” on the British constitution.

But Mr Lewis said: “Boris was at Chequers, he resigned after Chequers, I don’t think his position is news to anybody, it’s a position he has held for the last few months.

“But we have been very clear, we have got to deliver a deal for the UK that’s good for our economy, make sure people continue to have the opportunity to have job security and job opportunities for the future and respect that referendum and deliver on getting back control of our border, of our laws, of our money and that’s what this package does.”

He added: “The reality is there is one clear plan out there for how to deliver on the referendum that respects what people voted for and delivers for our economy in the UK – the Chequers plan that we agreed and set out in the white paper does exactly that and I’m confident that the Prime Minister, in Europe over the next month or so, will negotiate a deal which she can bring back to Parliament that will get the support of people across Parliament and deliver for the UK.”

As party chairman, Mr Lewis restated his apology for the conference app fiasco which resulted in some MPs’ contact details being accidentally disclosed.

“There was a technical fault with the app that meant there was an issue for some people.

“As soon as we knew about that we dealt with it, within half an hour it was fixed and dealt with so the app is now working and has been from the start of conference, working securely and properly.

“But any breach of data is completely unacceptable, it’s why we have made a report to the Information Commissioner. We’ll be making a further detailed report.”

The company which supplied the app – CrowdComms – has apologised “as have I, as have we”, Mr Lewis said.

“We will continue to do that investigation and deal with it seriously and properly,” he said.