Boris was remiss for his cowardly refusal to stand up and be counted. He was too frightened to be the only person who says we should agree to a no-deal Brexit.
I don't think it was a "Bear-pit". It should be a lively and challenging debate. If anything it was not all that challenging.
I think the only things Rory Stewart has against him are his looks and his posh background and voice. He is a decent caring man imho.
As Boris J. couldn't face the crowd or be bothered to stand up and speak, I will give a wonderful testimonial from one of his previous employers:
“Boris is a gold medal egomaniac… His chaotic public persona is not an act – he is, indeed, manically disorganised about everything except his own image management. He is also a far more ruthless, and frankly nastier, figure than the public appreciates… I would not take Boris’s word about whether it is Monday or Tuesday… He is not a man to believe in, to trust or respect, save as a superlative exhibitionist. He is bereft of judgment, loyalty and discretion. Only in the star-crazed, friviolous Britain of the 21st century could such a man have risen so high, and he is utterly unfit to go higher still.”
Sir Max Hastings