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Johnson v Corbyn: The key moments from the final head-to-head election debate

The BBC hosted the hour-long face off.

PastedImage-82741 The stage for tonight's BBC leaders debate. Twitter / BBCPolitics Twitter / BBCPolitics / BBCPolitics

SIX DAYS FROM now it’ll all be over bar the counting, so tonight’s head-to-head debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn was a huge opportunity for both parties. 

Chaired by the BBC’s Nick Robinson, the hour-long debate took in issues like Brexit, the NHS, wealth inequality and Northern Ireland. 

Here are some of the biggest talking points from how it all played out.

Ghosts of Christmas past

In an intervention earlier today that was both unprecedented and utterly unsurprising, John Major and Tony Blair put their party allegiances to one side and shared a platform to oppose Brexit. 

While Blair said he would still vote Labour in the election, Major said he would back ex-Conservative candidates running against Johnson’s party.

Both said voters should consider candidates opposing the two main parties. 

The question of was put to Corbyn and Johnson whether this was ‘worrying’ to them or whether Major and Blair were ‘a pair of has-beens’.

Both candidates rather deflected the question, with Johnson pivoting to Brexit and Corbyn talking about austerity. 

“I have the utmost respect of course for all former Conservative leaders and don’t wish to deprecate anyone as a has been, but I didn’t think he’s right,” Johnson said. 

And Corbyn: 

Tony Blair and John Major are welcome to make the comments that they do. I urge them to think for a moment, think for a moment at the reality of what nine years of austerity has done to the people of this country.

Ooh, matron!

With the NHS at the centre of the election and the protection of it something that all sides seem to agree is a good thing, it appeared at some points tonight that Corbyn and Johnson were engaged in a competitive love bombing of the service. 

Labour has been pushing a long-term proposal for a four-day working week but Corbyn denied that this would apply to nurses. 

“There is a plan to properly invest in our NHS because I am fed up with people queueing and waiting and in dire straits as they try to get an appointment to see a GP or to go into hospital,” he said.  

Johnson went down the route of literally expressing love for the NHS and calling Labour’s claims of impending privatisation “Bermuda triangle stuff” 

“I believe very passionately in it, I use it, I love it. It’s one of the most incredible things about this country, it’s admired around the world, the central idea that if any of us gets sick, all of us take care of them, it’s a fantastic thing,” he said. 

The pair engaged in much of the familiar debate about whether the NHS would be on the table in trade talks with the US before Corbyn got a clap for the line:

The Prime Minister says he’s not going to do that sort of a trade deal. If that’s the case, why did the talks go on for two years? It doesn’t take two years to say no to privatisation of the NHS. 

The Irish question

The biggest actual news line out of the campaign today came over Johnson’s claim that there will be no border in the Irish Sea under his Brexit plan.

Corbyn produced a document earlier which he said showed that the Prime Minister has been “misleading” people about his withdrawal deal.

We’ve Factchecked Johnson’s claim previously and found that while checks may be avoided going eastwards, it’s rather impossible to say the same about goods going in the opposite direction

“The documents show quite clearly that there are going to be charges, there are going to be customs checks, there are going to be restrictions on trade between Britain and Northern Ireland,” Corbyn said during tonight’s debate. 

Untrue, Johnson responded. 

“What the document also says is that Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the UK,” he said. 

For good measure, Johnson brought up Corbyn’s past support of Irish republicanism. 

I do find it slightly curious to say the least Nick, to be lectured about the union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by a man who all his political life has campaigned to break up that union, and actually supported for four decades the IRA in their campaign violently to destroy it

Terror 

Another question put to the two prospective Prime Ministers was about whether “safety or human rights” were more important. 

The question was an indirect reference to the recent London Bridge terror attack and, answering it first, Corbyn didn’t mention the attacks. 

Instead, he said that it’s “not an either or” question, focusing on the need to invest in policing to ensure public safety. 

“You don’t get security on the cheap, you have to invest in it. Human rights are our defense against autocracy, and our defence against abuse of power. There is no difference between wanting security and human rights, those two things are actually inextricably linked together,” he said. 

Johnson agreed that there was “no need to compromise” on human rights for safety but did bring up the recent attack, arguing that attacker Usman Khan’s release from prison was “extraordinary and wrong”.

“I said long before I became prime minister that we needed to campaign against short sentences. I said in August that we should get rid of automatic early release.,” he said. 

Johnson then went on to falsely claim that a bill to stop this was “stuck because of the blockade in parliament”. The obstruction in parliament is over Brexit bills, not other legislation. 

‘Why is this lying bastard lying to me?’

Towards the end of the debate, one member of the audience asked mischievously: 

What punishment do you think is appropriate for elected politicians who lie during political campaigns?

Johnson seemed a little flummoxed by the question, asnwering: 

Well, they should, they should be, they should be made to go on their knees to down the, through the chamber of the House of Commons, scourging themselves with copies of their of their offending documents.

Corbyn went down the route of saying voters could remove them:

“If they don’t deliver, then there is a democratic process to deal with that in the future. That is what democracy is about. It’s about holding people to account.” 

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    Mute Misanthrope
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:15 PM

    Inside job

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    Mute Dáithí Ó Raghallaigh
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:18 PM

    @Misanthrope: definition someone with more knowledge than they should have had..

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    Mute Jimbo Jones
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:19 PM

    Nice that he wore a hi-vis. Good to see that health and safety is being taken seriously.

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    Mute Ciarán McPhillips
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:19 PM

    Who withdraws €55,000 in cash for any legitimate reason nowadays? Seriously??!!

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:22 PM

    @Ciarán McPhillips:

    Are you trying to say the business was using the 55000 euro for illegitimate reasons

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    Mute Ciarán McPhillips
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:27 PM

    @Casper: what business? There is no mention of any business in the article above.

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:31 PM

    @Ciarán McPhillips:

    Just because it’s not mentioned doesn’t mean it’s not a business

    19
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    Mute Ciarán McPhillips
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:35 PM

    @Casper: well unfortunately I just read the facts outlined in the article. It must be much more interesting reading the news when you don’t allow the facts to get in the way. Maybe extra terrestrials appeared and abducted them and stole the money. I mean using your logic- just because it doesn’t say it…..

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:40 PM

    @Casper: Excellent retort there.

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:41 PM

    @Ciarán McPhillips:

    Happy Xmas Ciaran

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    Mute David Conroy
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    Dec 21st 2017, 6:28 PM

    @Ciarán McPhillips: Agree, I smell a large hairy rat, who carries that amount of cash for either personal or business use nowadays ?
    It just does not add up or make sense, why did bells not ring in the Bank either ?

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    Mute Father Hody Commody
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    Dec 21st 2017, 6:46 PM

    @Casper: Well, if you happen to have that kind of cash on you boarding an aircraft, god help you.

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    Mute Martin Morris
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    Dec 21st 2017, 7:00 PM

    @Ciarán McPhillips: hahahahahahaha just so good. I was saying boooourns.

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    Mute Jack O'neill
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    Dec 21st 2017, 9:17 PM

    @Ciarán McPhillips: The robbery happened outside Rialto credit union.

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:23 PM

    Who other than Cash in Transit Security withdraws €55,000 in cash from a Bank? 20-30 years ago understandable as possibly payroll. But today very very rare. One would have to ask questions as to what it was for.

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:25 PM

    @Mick Jordan:

    Isn’t that the work of the Garda, like I am pretty sure this is all the stuff they will be looking into

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    Mute Niall Sullivan
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:39 PM

    @Mick Jordan: Paying a large sum of cash is not at all unusual. Many business sale deals are two thirds through the books, one third cash. Used to be fairly common. Same for selling commercial property. About 30% under the counter is common.

    The questions would need to be asked of the person receiving it on such a transaction, rather than the person paying it over, assuming the person paying it over got it legitimately. If they took it from a bank, it’s very likely declared and legitimate income. Revenue know about deposits.

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    Mute Aidan Molyneux
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    Dec 21st 2017, 7:19 PM

    @Casper: my question is why did the Garda wait from the 7th to 21st before asking for witnesses

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    Mute Rónán O'Suilleabháin
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    Dec 21st 2017, 8:35 PM

    might be what I’ve heard called the ‘manage’ in cork. A couple of people collect money from colleagues all year, bank it, then give it back at Christmas time.

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    Mute Mark Heehee
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 8:01 AM

    @Aidan Molyneux: that’s my question too. I’ve been in the area many times,but was I there exactly 2 weeks ago at lunch? Why the delay in looking for witnesses?

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    Mute Ciarán McPhillips
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:24 PM

    The more I read this the more peculiar it becomes

    No description other an average height
    No mention of any age profile
    No mantion of any sort of accent
    He approached on foot
    Left on a bicycle
    Having (presumably) followed them by car?

    Tia less fishy in Leo Burdocks

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:26 PM

    @Ciarán McPhillips:

    Keep reading you might come up with more

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    Mute David Dickson
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:25 PM

    Why did the guards wait two weeks to make an appeal for dash camera video? How could anyone remember two weeks ago

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:28 PM

    @David Dickson:

    Well if they look at the dash camera on that day the camera will jog their memories

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    Mute John Barnes
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:58 PM

    @Casper: cams override constantly no storage

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    Mute Father Hody Commody
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    Dec 21st 2017, 6:47 PM

    @David Dickson: Plus dash cams overwrite themselves.

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    Mute Sean Whelan
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    Dec 21st 2017, 7:26 PM

    I don’t think you can walk into a bank and just withdraw large amounts of cash on demand anymore, as far as I know it has to be ordered in advance.
    If I was hedging my bets I’d be looking at an inside job.
    Not very difficult to tip someone off to a large withdrawal, sure you even know the person’s name and address in advance.

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    Mute Liam
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:20 PM

    An oddity amongst oddities

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    Mute Brian O Reilly
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:40 PM

    It was Santa ,

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:20 PM

    It’s the season for a bit of silliness and this inside job is pure silliness

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Dec 21st 2017, 5:42 PM

    @Casper: taking €55,000 out of a bank in cash is pretty silly too, I would say.

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    Mute Casper
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    Dec 21st 2017, 6:21 PM

    @Dave Murray:

    Not if they have 55 members of family that they wanted to give a Xmas pressie of €1000 each

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Dec 21st 2017, 6:19 PM

    An amazing coincidence. Santa was early.

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    Mute Joe Dobias
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    Dec 21st 2017, 8:21 PM

    Sounds like a inside job.

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    Mute Sarah Murphy
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 9:26 AM

    Pedal Cycle; why use one word when you can use two

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    Mute Terry Burns
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    Dec 22nd 2017, 3:43 AM

    It sounds like a bloke year’s ago in a bank in Talbot st.someone lodged it .?

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    Mute brian oconnell
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    Dec 29th 2017, 1:06 PM

    Probably an “inside family” job!

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