Police called to Boris Johnson flat after neighbour reportedly heard screaming

Police were called to the home of Conservative leadership candidate Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds.

The Guardian reported that officers were alerted at 12.24am on Friday after neighbours said there had been a loud altercation involving screaming, shouting and banging.

The Metropolitan Police said the caller, who was from south London, "was concerned for the welfare of a female neighbour".

Mr Johnson refused to answer questions about the incident at a hustings event in Birmingham this afternoon.

Speaking to the host, he said he thought people did not "want to hear about that kind of thing".

But Ms Symonds has been on Twitter, liking a tweet that read: "Dear @carriesymonds - please just carry on. We must have entertainment at No 10. Three years of boredom is quite enough."

Referring to the incident at her flat, a Met police spokesman said: "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."

The neighbour, who recorded the altercation from inside their home, said they had knocked on the door but received no response, according to The Guardian.

"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," they told the newspaper.

It was also reported that the neighbour heard a sound like "smashing" plates, along with "a couple of very loud screams" and a "loud bang" which shook the house.

A neighbour, Fatimah, 32, a nursery worker, said: "Just after midnight I heard a lady shouting, but I couldn't make out what she said, then I heard plates and glasses smashing and things being thrown around.

"I was watching something on the television and I had to mute it because I was quite concerned, it was coming through the walls.

"It lasted for just under 10 minutes, and a police car turned up first, and then a police van a few minutes later."

Another neighbour told Sky News his wife heard shouting and had seen the police arrive.

Security minister Ben Wallace, who is a close ally of Mr Johnson, said in a tweet to a Sun journalist, which has since been deleted: "What a non story 'couple have row'. Lefty neighbours give recording to Guardian. Newspaper reaches new low is a better news story."

In a second reply, responding to a Twitter user questioning his suggestion it was a "non story", Mr Wallace referred to domestic abuse, saying: "Didn't say DA was a non story. It is incredibly serious. But the report said 'row'."

Mr Johnson was named as one of the two finalists in the race to become the next Conservative leader and prime minister on Thursday afternoon.