UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced political opposition and personal allegations on Monday as he tried to fulfil his pledge to lead Britain out of the European Union in just over a month.
The prime minister's office denied a journalist's claim that Johnson grabbed her thigh at a private lunch two decades ago. Sunday Times columnist Charlotte Edwardes says the incident took place when she worked at conservative newsmagazine The Spectator while Johnson was its editor.
![A blimp of Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is inflated as part of the Reject Brexit defend our democracy protest, before the Conservative party conference in Manchester. Photo / AP](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/LBGIIGKVVISS4LSQNTTC2DEW5M.jpg?auth=52820e6e2276350c6ed1fa31fb28cfc95891923e544ddfcfb2171894289b4dc3&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Johnson's office said, "This allegation is untrue."
Edwardes responded by tweeting: "If the prime minister doesn't recollect the incident then clearly I have a better memory than he does."