U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused of hiding in a refrigerator to avoid a live television interview on Wednesday, the final day of campaigning before the country's general election.

What happened: Johnson was approached by a reporter for "Good Morning Britain" while visiting Modern Milkman, a local business in Yorkshire, who asked to speak to him on live television, setting off a confrontation, per The Guardian.

  • Johnson's aide appeared to respond with an expletive.
  • The camera cut to the show's hosts, Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, who were stunned in the studio.
  • Johnson continued to ignore the reporter — before telling him, "I'll be with you in a second" — and then walked into the dairy refrigerator.

What they're saying: Morgan called Johnson a "fridge-hider" in a tweet after the incident.

  • Sources from Johnson's Conservative Party told The Guardian that the prime minister entered the fridge "to prep [him] for a separate, pre-agreed interview" — and stated that he was "categorically not hiding."

The big picture: A key election forecast showed the Conservatives holding a shrinking lead in tomorrow's election.

  • YouGov's MRP poll of 100,000 U.K. voters predicted a 28-seat majority for Johnson's party yesterday — still a solid victory, but significantly down from a projected 68-seat majority late last month.

Go deeper: Why Trump cares about this week's U.K. elections

Go deeper

Updated 54 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 p.m. ET: 25,133,368 — Total deaths: 845,054— Total recoveries: 16,545,326Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10:30 p.m. ET: 5,994,855 — Total deaths: 183,045 — Total recoveries: 2,153,539 — Total tests: 77,591,123Map.
  3. Politics: Trump's big health promises ignore the pandemic's reality — Team Biden eyes a trillion-dollar January stimulus if elected.
  4. Education: College reopening plans are crumbling across the country.
  5. Health: CDC report on coronavirus deaths underlines why virus is so dangerous — FDA chief willing to fast-track coronavirus vaccine before Phase 3 trials completed.
  6. World: Europe fears second coronavirus wave as cases surge — Berlin police break up protests against coronavirus restrictions

CDC report on coronavirus deaths underlines why virus is so dangerous

Continental Funeral Home in Los Angeles has been struggling to keep up with the demands of rising death rates during the pandemic. Photo: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

A new Centers for Disease Control report shows 94% of people who died after contracting COVID-19 had contributing health conditions.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Sam Baker: This report doesn't mean that COVID isn't as bad as we thought. It's clear from the CDC's statistics on excess deaths that more people are dying than usual, because of COVID. The fact that common pre-existing medical conditions often coincide with deadly coronavirus infections is part of what makes it scary — not a reason to write it off.

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump to visit Kenosha despite Wisconsin governor asking him not to

Combination images of President Trump and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images and Melina Mara/Pool/Getty Images

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) asked President Trump in a letter Sunday to reconsider his planned trip to Kenosha this week following protest unrest over Jacob Blake's shooting. But White House spokesperson Judd Deere told Axios the trip will go ahead.

The big picture: After Deere told reporters Saturday the president would "survey damage from recent riots," Evers told Trump he's concerned his presence "will only hinder our healing" and "delay our work to overcome division and move forward together."