Boris Johnson has repeated his determination to deliver Brexit by Halloween, in what will be seen as an attempt to refocus attention away from his private life.
The Tory leadership candidate appeared to deliver a retort to his rival to be prime minister as he vowed 'we are not going to bottle it' on the EU exit date of October 31.
But Jeremy Hunt called on Mr Johnson not to be a 'coward' by avoiding a live TV debate with him this week, as he suggested otherwise he would be 'slinking through the back door' of Number 10.
Boris Johnson has repeated his determination to deliver Brexit by Halloween, in what will be seen as an attempt to refocus attention away from his private life
Mr Johnson remains under pressure to explain why police were called to the home he shares with partner Carrie Symonds, but in his column for the Daily Telegraph he attempted to switch attention back to political rather than personal issues.
He wrote: 'We must leave the EU on Oct 31 come what may. It will honour the referendum result, it will focus the minds of EU negotiators.'
He added: 'It is absolutely vital that we keep our eyes on the prize. It has been a long and parching march - but the oasis is finally in sight.
'We are just over four months away from the date on which, by law, we must leave the EU; and this time we are not going to bottle it. We are not going to fail.
'This time we are not going to shrink in fear from the exit, as we have on the last two occasions.'
Mr Johnson remains under pressure to explain why police were called to the home he shares with partner Carrie Symonds (pictured together) but in his column for the Daily Telegraph he attempted to switch attention back to political rather than personal issues
Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt has previously attacked Mr Johnson over reports he was 'bottling' a live TV debate before postal ballots are returned.
Stepping up pressure on his rival, Mr Hunt insisted that while he has no interest in debating Mr Johnson's private life, he wants to challenge him on television over his commitment to taking the UK out of the EU by the end of October.
In an article in The Times, Mr Hunt said: 'A new prime minister needs the legitimacy of having made his arguments publicly and having them
