UK's Boris Johnson under pressure to explain domestic 'row'

Boris Johnson, the strong favourite to become Britain's next prime minister, came under pressure from figures in his own party on Sunday to explain reports of a domestic 'row' that led to a police visit.

Although still heavily backed to beat Jeremy Hunt to become Conservative Party leader, and therefore prime minister, a snap poll published in the Mail on Sunday suggested that the incident had cut his support.

The Guardian reported that police were alerted early on Friday after a neighbour heard a loud altercation involving screams, shouts and bangs at the south London property, shortly after Johnson had secured his place in the final run-off to become prime minister.

The paper said Johnson's partner Carrie Symonds could be heard telling the former London mayor to "get off me" and "get out of my flat".

The former foreign secretary refused to answer questions about the incident on the first day of the month-long contest to win over Conservative grassroot members, saying "I don't think people want to hear about that kind of thing."