General Election latest: Boris Johnson warns of Labour majority in surprise speech to Tory rally

Boris Johnson began his surprise appearance at the late-night rally with a joke thanking Tory activists, saying it was well past Keir Starmer's bedtime.

He thanked Rishi Sunak for asking him to come, but that was the only mention of the current prime minister in his speech, and the two men were not photographed together.

He told the crowd gathered at the National Army Museum: “Is it not, therefore, the height of madness, if these polls are correct, that we are about to give Labour a super-majority, which they will use to make us nothing more than thugs in Brussels, enforcing European law at their dictation, with no say in how that law is made?”

His appearance comes after Rishi Sunak reportedly sent him a message last week asking him to help in any way he could. No further intervention from Mr Johnson is expected before the election.

Nigel Farage told Channel 5 that government boats should be ready to intercept Channel boats and bring them back to France.

In response to a question about his party's policy on small boats, the leader of the British Reform Party said: “If you know you're not going to be allowed to stay, if you know you're not going to get refugee status, you're not going to pay £5,000 to a trafficker. It's as simple as that.”

Asked whether he would be prepared to see Border Force intercepting and turning back rubber dinghies at sea, Mr Farage said: “Prepare to do that, but we won't need to.”

He added: And by the way, not a cent more for the French if the French Navy continues to violate its own maritime code by escorting illegal vessels to the 12-mile line (marking the limit of the French territorial sea).

Boris Johnson's appearance at a Conservative Party campaign rally is an insult, the Liberal Democrats' deputy leader has said.

Responding to the former prime minister's presence at the rally in central London, which took place late on Tuesday night, Daisy Cooper said: “This is an insult to everyone who has made heartbreaking sacrifices during the pandemic.”

Rishi Sunak has reached a new level of desperation by turning to a man who has discredited the office of Prime Minister and repeatedly lied to the country.

It's time to oust this tired and corrupt Conservative Party and elect Liberal Democrat MPs who will stand up for their communities.

An audience member chants “We want Rishi” as Mr Sunak pauses in his speech to laugh to himself.

He says: I love this country for what it has done to my family. My grandparents came here with very little and now, two generations later, I find myself here.

My story could not have taken place in any other country.

He concluded: I repeat, let us not capitulate to the Labour Party. Let us fight for every vote, let us fight for our values, let us fight for our vision of Britain. Thank you.

“We didn't do everything right,” Rishi Sunak told the crowd.

But this Thursday is not a by-election but a choice for the future of this country and that choice has serious consequences for your family if you get it wrong.

He said: Sir Keir would remove our [Rwanda] deter and release illegal migrants from our streets.

He adds that Labour are socialists: “Everything you say, they will tax.”

He promises more tax cuts under the Conservatives to support risk-takers, retirees, homeowners and families.

Now I don't need to tell you all in London what this looks like. Sadiq Khan is hiking council tax by 70%, pricing out motorists who drive off the road with Ulez, and allowing knife crime to soar.

But that's not all. Labour has ruined Birmingham, Europe's largest local authority, and residents are paying the price with a 20% increase in council taxes.

Mr Sunak added: “A lot of people tend to say that this election is a foregone conclusion, but I know that’s not the case. It will only take 130,000 people switching their vote and supporting us to deny Labour the supermajority it wants. Every vote counts.”

Isn't it great to have our Conservative family together, my friends?, Rishi Sunak tells the crowd as Boris leaves the stage.

He added: Think about it, think about it, just the other day Keir Starmer was saying that Jeremy Corbyn would have been a better prime minister than Boris.

This is shameful. Can you imagine what this would have meant for Ukraine? What this would have meant for the security of our country, for our defense, the damage it would have caused to our economy?

He told the packed hall: “We have 48 hours to save Britain from the danger of a Labour government.”

Boris Johnson thanked the participants for coming so late, well after Keir Starmer's bedtime.

When Rishi asked me to come and help him, of course I couldn't say no, he continued.

We are all here because we love our country.

He joked that Sir Keir Starmer had his mouth hanging open like a stunned mule on issues of sex and gender.

He said a huge Labour majority would be full of horrors.

Mr Johnson told the audience that a Labour government would raise taxes and not stand up to Vladimir Putin.

They will abandon the Rwanda plan, he said, before describing Labour MPs as Kremlin creeps.

Boris Johnson has arrived to speak at a Conservative campaign event in London, which will be attended by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later in the evening.

He was greeted with cheers, applause, whistles and chants of “Boris, Boris, Boris.”