The foreign secretary has evaded answering questions on the latest sleaze allegations surrounding Boris Johnson to hit the Conservative Party.

James Cleverly was asked about a claim that the BBC chairman Richard Sharp helped the former prime minister arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000, weeks before he was then recommended for the job by Mr Johnson.

Mr Cleverly admitted he had not tried to contact the ex-PM to seek clarity on the situation today, telling Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “You’re the journalist not me.”

Mr Johnson and Mr Sharp have denied a conflict of interest following the reports.

Labour’s Pat McFadden said the latest scandal was damaging public trust in politicians and that is “really corrosive to governance”.