LONDON — Police were called early Friday in response to a loud altercation between Boris Johnson, who is favored to be voted in as Britain’s next prime minister, and his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, a former head of communications for the Conservative Party.
The Guardian, the British newspaper, reported that a neighbor was alarmed by the sound of screaming and banging and used a mobile phone to record the dispute between Johnson, 55, and Symonds, 31.
The neighbor, whom The Guardian did not identify, said Symonds could be heard telling Johnson to “get off me” and “get out of my flat.” The neighbor then knocked on the door of the apartment and called police when there was no response.
The Guardian reported that, on the recording, Johnson can be heard refusing to leave the flat and telling Symonds to stop using his laptop, and Symonds can be heard complaining that Johnson had spilled red wine on the sofa.
Johnson’s campaign made no comment Friday.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police would not identify any people involved, but confirmed that at 12:24 a.m. police responded to a call from the neighborhood where Symonds lives, from an individual who was concerned for the welfare of a female neighbor.
Police spoke to all the occupants of the address and confirmed that they were “all safe and well.” Officers determined there were “no offenses or concerns apparent” and left without taking any action.
Johnson is overwhelmingly likely to be chosen in a ballot of Conservative Party members next month, despite his chaotic personal life.
He split last year from his wife of 25 years, Marina Wheeler, with whom he has four children. It is not clear when his relationship with Symonds began, but in recent weeks she has appeared at his campaign events, and many had expected her to move with him into 10 Downing Street.
His first marriage, to Allegra Mostyn-Owen, his college sweetheart, ended in divorce and, shortly thereafter, he married Wheeler. A decade later, he lost his position as shadow arts minister for lying about an affair with Petronella Wyatt, one of the writers on the magazine he edited.
Later, when he was serving as mayor of London, he fathered a daughter with Helen Macintyre, an art consultant, who fought in court to keep the girl’s paternity secret but was overruled by an appeals court.