Markus Andrews

Former Brexit minister David Frost has shared his “grave reservations” about Tory leadership contest favourite Penny Mordaunt becoming prime minister in a brutal attack on her credibility.The Brexit hardliner said the trade minister went missing during negotiations with the EU last year and became such a “problem” that he was forced to ask Boris Johnson to dismiss her from talks.“I’m sorry to say this, I felt she did not master the detail that was necessary when we were in negotiations,” Lord Frost told TalkTV, attacking her credentials as a Brexiteer. “She wouldn’t always deliver tough messages to the EU when that was necessary.”The right-wing Tory peer added: “She wasn’t always visible. Sometimes I didn’t even know where she was. It became such a problem that after six months I had to ask the prime minister to move her on.”Saying he was “surprised” at her emergence as a top contender, Lord Frost said: “On the basis of what I saw I would have grave reservations about [her becoming PM].”The former Brexit negotiator, who quit at the end of last year, even suggested that Brexit would not be safe in Ms Mordaunt’s hands if she makes it to No 10.Recommended“If Brexit is going to be safe it’s going to need a few things,” he said. “One of them is the ability to be tough, be clear, deliver tough messages … And I would worry, on the basis on what I’ve seen, that we wouldn’t necessarily get that from Penny.”Leading Brexit analysist Mujtaba Rahman said Lord Frost’s view on Ms Mordaunt “is widely shared in Brussels – with one important qualification. One senior EU official tells me she ‘was even less qualified than Frost’.”A source from Ms Mordant’s camp told The Independent: “Penny has nothing but respect for Lord Frost. He did a huge amount to assist our negotiations until he resigned from government. Penny will always fight for Brexit and always has.”Lord Frost, admired by the hardliners in the European Research Group (ERG), suggested he would soon throw his weight behind Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch or Suella Braverman.“All three of those candidates … are saying very interesting things, things that the country needs to hear. I’ll says something soon on that subject,” he said on the contest.The rival camps of Ms Truss and Ms Mordaunt engaged in a furious briefing war last night, after the outsider shook up the race by running a close second to Mr Sunak – gaining 67 to his 88.One of Ms Truss’s allies said it was not a time for someone who needs “stabilisers”. But a shock YouGov survey showed that Ms Mordaunt would defeat Mr Sunak by 67 per cent to 28 per cent among party members – a huge margin.Ms Truss has appealed to Brexiteers by claiming she was a “reluctant Remainer” at the 2016 Brexit referendum. “If I could vote now, I would vote to leave the European Union,” she told The Spectator.She added: “I was a reluctant Remainer. I was loyal to the prime minister at the time, David Cameron.”Conservative MPs in the ERG are split over which candidate will best champion the Brexit cause. ERG chair Mark Francois is backing Ms Truss, while several other leading figures in the group opt for Ms Braverman.RecommendedTheresa Villiers, one of the 28 Tory “Spartans” who voted against Theresa May’s Brexit deal three times, stunned her allies by backing Rishi Sunak in the first round.The second round of voting by Tory MPs takes place between 11.30am and 1.30pm on Thursday, with a result announced at 3pm. More

The right-wing of the Conservative Party should unite behind Liz Truss, senior backer Therese Coffey has said as the foreign secretary struggles to keep pace with the frontrunners.Ms Truss only nabbed 50 votes in the first ballot of the Tory race, falling behind rivals Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, as she prepares to set out her pitch as a tax-cutter on Thursday morning.The work and pensions secretary – who called Ms Truss a “fantastic lady” – said it was time for supporters of Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman to fall in behind the foreign secretary.In a plea to unite those on the right, Ms Coffey claimed “emotions” were still raw and said it may “take a little bit of time” for rival camps to acknowledge Ms Truss had the best chance of making it into the final two.The cabinet minister told Sky News: “The reason why I think supporters of Kemi and Suella should come and join Liz is because a lot of their policies are in a very similar direction.”RecommendedSome Brexiteers MPs were understood to be trying to persuade ardent Brexiteer Ms Braverman – who only squeaked through with 32 votes – to withdraw.Ms Badenoch, who has strong support from anti-woke MPs, picked up a more impressive 40 votes and is not expected to back out at the second round of voting today.The rival camps of Ms Truss and Ms Mordaunt engaged in a furious briefing war last night, after the outsider shook up the race by running a close second to Mr Sunak – gaining 67 to his 88.And a shock YouGov survey showed that Ms Mordaunt would defeat Sunak by 67 per cent to 28 per cent among party members – a huge margin. A Ms Mordaunt versus Ms Truss match-up is closer, at 55 per cent versus 37 per cent.An ally of Ms Truss told The Times it was not the time for a prime minister who required “stabilisers”, while an ally of Ms Mordaunt accused Ms Truss of pursuing a “dog-whistle, anti-woke Faragist campaign”.The foreign secretary’s backers have been accused of running a campaign to damage Mr Sunak’s chances in the contest – criticising the former chancellor’s “economically damaging” policies.In a campaign speech on Thursday, Ms Truss will detail her economic plan, which includes reversing April’s National Insurance rate rise, lowering corporation tax and enacting supply-side reforms.Despite being a Johnson loyalist, Ms Truss kept her powder dry as the Tory top brass turned on the mortally wounded PM last week, though she did cut short a foreign trip to Indonesia to head back to Westminster as he announced his resignation.The 46-year-old has made little secret of her leadership ambitions, with a series of high-profile interventions and photo opportunities in which she appeared to be channelling late Margaret Thatcher.The former-Remainer-turned-ardent-Brexiteer’s threats to tear up parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU play well with sections of the party.Ms Truss has appealed to Brexiteers by claiming she was a “reluctant Remainer” at the 2016 Brexit referendum. “If I could vote now, I would vote to leave the European Union,” she told The Spectator.She added: “I was a reluctant Remainer. I was loyal to the prime minister at the time, David Cameron.”Conservative MPs in the European Research Group (ERG) are split over which candidate will best champion the Brexit cause, with ERG chair Mark Francois backing Ms Truss.RecommendedContrasting her experience with that of relative newcomer Ms Mordaunt, Ms Truss is expected to say: “I am ready to be prime minister on day one. I can lead, make tough decisions and rise to the moment.”The second round of voting by Tory MPs takes place between 11.30am and 1.30pm, with a result announced at 3pm. More

The right-wing of the Conservative Party should unite behind Liz Truss, senior backer Therese Coffey has said as the foreign secretary struggles to keep pace with the frontrunners.Ms Truss only nabbed 50 votes in the first ballot of the Tory race, falling behind rivals Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, as she prepares to set out her pitch as a tax-cutter on Thursday morning.The work and pensions secretary – who called Ms Truss a “fantastic lady” – said it was time for supporters of Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman to fall in behind the foreign secretary.In a plea to unite those on the right, Ms Coffey claimed “emotions” were still raw and said it may “take a little bit of time” for rival camps to acknowledge Ms Truss had the best chance of making it into the final two.The cabinet minister told Sky News: “The reason why I think supporters of Kemi and Suella should come and join Liz is because a lot of their policies are in a very similar direction.”RecommendedSome Brexiteers MPs were understood to be trying to persuade ardent Brexiteer Ms Braverman – who only squeaked through with 32 votes – to withdraw.Ms Badenoch, who has strong support from anti-woke MPs, picked up a more impressive 40 votes and is not expected to back out at the second round of voting today.The rival camps of Ms Truss and Ms Mordaunt engaged in a furious briefing war last night, after the outsider shook up the race by running a close second to Mr Sunak – gaining 67 to his 88.And a shock YouGov survey showed that Ms Mordaunt would defeat Sunak by 67 per cent to 28 per cent among party members – a huge margin. A Ms Mordaunt versus Ms Truss match-up is closer, at 55 per cent versus 37 per cent.An ally of Ms Truss told The Times it was not the time for a prime minister who required “stabilisers”, while an ally of Ms Mordaunt accused Ms Truss of pursuing a “dog-whistle, anti-woke Faragist campaign”.The foreign secretary’s backers have been accused of running a campaign to damage Mr Sunak’s chances in the contest – criticising the former chancellor’s “economically damaging” policies.In a campaign speech on Thursday, Ms Truss will detail her economic plan, which includes reversing April’s National Insurance rate rise, lowering corporation tax and enacting supply-side reforms.Despite being a Johnson loyalist, Ms Truss kept her powder dry as the Tory top brass turned on the mortally wounded PM last week, though she did cut short a foreign trip to Indonesia to head back to Westminster as he announced his resignation.The 46-year-old has made little secret of her leadership ambitions, with a series of high-profile interventions and photo opportunities in which she appeared to be channelling late Margaret Thatcher.The former-Remainer-turned-ardent-Brexiteer’s threats to tear up parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol with the EU play well with sections of the party.Ms Truss has appealed to Brexiteers by claiming she was a “reluctant Remainer” at the 2016 Brexit referendum. “If I could vote now, I would vote to leave the European Union,” she told The Spectator.She added: “I was a reluctant Remainer. I was loyal to the prime minister at the time, David Cameron.”Conservative MPs in the European Research Group (ERG) are split over which candidate will best champion the Brexit cause, with ERG chair Mark Francois backing Ms Truss.RecommendedContrasting her experience with that of relative newcomer Ms Mordaunt, Ms Truss is expected to say: “I am ready to be prime minister on day one. I can lead, make tough decisions and rise to the moment.”The second round of voting by Tory MPs takes place between 11.30am and 1.30pm, with a result announced at 3pm. More

‘I have grave reservations’: Lord Frost questions Penny Mordaunt’s leadership abilitySuella Braverman has been knocked out of the Tory leadership race in the second round of voting, as Rishi Sunak topped the ballot with more than 100 backers.Penny Mordaunt increased her lead over Liz Truss, with 83 votes to the foreign secretary’s 64 – while Tom Tugendhat vowed to fight on despite receiving the backing of just 32 Conservative MPs.Lord Frost earlier launched a brutal attack on Ms Mordaunt after polling placed her as the favourite among the Tory faithful to succeed Boris Johnson, with the former Brexit minister claiming he had asked for her to be removed as his deputy during talks with the EU.Alleging that the former defence secretary “did not master the detail that was necessary” during negotiations and “wouldn’t always deliver tough messages to the EU” when the situation merited it, the Conservative peer said he was now “gravely concerned”.Ms Truss will now be hoping to hoover up Ms Braverman’s support – with the results likely to amplify calls from her allies who earlier urged those supporting Kemi Badenoch to “join Liz” instead.RecommendedShow latest update

1657810161Truss ‘faces narrow path’ to final two, as Tory MPs ‘want a fresh face’Here is some reaction from journalists to the results, and what they could mean for the next stages of the race.Liz Truss faces a narrow path to make it into the last two, The Times’ political editor believes.Tom Newton-Dunn of TalkTV suggests that the dispersion of the results in today’s vote indicates that “the majority of MPs still want a fresh face”.And Stephen Bush of the Financial Times argues that “the only candidates you can say had an unalloyed good result” are Kemi Badenoch and Penny Mordaunt.Andy Gregory14 July 2022 15:491657809343Penny Mordaunt slightly increases lead over Liz Truss and picks up most new votesThe margin between Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss has seen a slight increase – with the foreign secretary coming 19 votes behind her rival in the second round.Ms Truss will be hoping to hoover up votes belonging to newly-eliminated Suella Braverman as she seeks to close the gap – which has grown from 67-50 in the first round, to 83-64 in the second.Picking up 16 new votes, Ms Mordaunt increased her vote share in the second round by more than any other candidate:Andy Gregory14 July 2022 15:351657808593Watch: Suella Braverman eliminated from raceHere is the moment that Suella Braverman was knocked out of the race:Tory leadership: Suella Braverman eliminated from race as Sunak leads in second ballotAndy Gregory14 July 2022 15:231657808525Tugendhat vows to fight on after receiving just 32 votesTom Tugendhat has insisted that his “campaign for a clean start” continues – despite him receiving just 32 votes in the second round of the leadership race.“We need trust back in our politics. I will be putting my vision for Britain forward to the public at the TV debates next week,” the foreign affairs committee chair said.Andy Gregory14 July 2022 15:221657807993Liz Truss campaign claims she is attracting support from across Tory PartyLiz Truss’s leadership election team claimed she is attracting a wide range of support from across the Tory party, as they indicted Suella Braverman’s supporters should now back the foreign secretary.“Suella Braverman ran a campaign that she can rightly be proud of,” a spokeswoman for Ms Truss said.“As Liz set out in her speech now is the time for MPs to unite behind the candidate who will cut taxes, deliver the real economic change we need, continue to deliver the benefits of Brexit and ensure Putin loses in Ukraine.“Liz Truss has the experience to deliver from day one, grow our economy and support working families and then beat Labour.”Andy Gregory14 July 2022 15:131657807529Sunak receives more than 100 votes in second round of votingOur deputy political correspondent Rob Merrick has this breaking report on the results of the second Tory leadership vote: More

A Conservative leadership candidate has said the Online Safety Bill in its current form should not become law after it emerged the Bill’s final stages have been delayed until the autumn.Former minister Kemi Badenoch said the postponement was the “right move”, adding that if she is elected as leader of the Tories she will “ensure the Bill doesn’t overreach”.In response to reports it was being deferred, Ms Badenoch tweeted: “This would be the right move. The Bill is in no fit state to become law.“If I’m elected Prime Minister I will ensure the Bill doesn’t overreach. We should not be legislating for hurt feelings.”RecommendedCulture Secretary Nadine Dorries, who is spearheading the Bill and is backing Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to be the next leader of the Tories, replied: “Which part of the Bill legislates for hurt feelings, Kemi?”The legislation was provisionally due to go before Parliament next week but the PA news agency understands it has been delayed to allow for a confidence vote in the Government and the next stage of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill to take place ahead of recess.However, sources have said the Bill is expected to be tabled in the autumn once the new prime minister has taken office.Campaigners have warned that the delay could be detrimental in the fight to keep children safe online.Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy at the NSPCC, said: “The Online Safety Bill is a crucial piece of legislation that is fundamentally about protecting children from harm and abuse that is taking place on an industrial scale on social media.“Any delay will mean families continue to pay the price for the failure and inaction of tech firms who have allowed harm to fester rather than get their house in order.“Online regulation is therefore vital to force their hand and delivering this legislation should be a cornerstone of any Government’s duty to keep the most vulnerable in our society safe.”Tim Cairns, senior policy officer at social policy charity Care, added: “Care completely understands the free speech concerns associated with certain provisions in the Online Safety Bill, and we share fears that a requirement to police ‘legal but harmful’ speech would devastate free expression online. However, other aspects of this legislation are unquestionably laudable.“We are living in an era when safeguarding in the online sphere does not have parity with safeguarding in the offline world. Care is particularly concerned about the array of disturbing and harmful content children encounter online, including pornography, which they can access with ease. More

Senior Conservatives across the north of England are growing increasingly concerned that the government’s flagship levelling up policy will be dropped by whoever becomes the party’s new leader.Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and Jake Berry, chair of the party’s Northern Research Group in parliament, have both separately warned that the huge red wall gains made at the last election will be lost without an ongoing strategy for the region.They have separately written to all candidates demanding commitments on investment and greater powers for the area.But almost a week on from Boris Johnson’s resignation, none of the eight remaining runners and riders to replace him have yet offered any concrete pledges – or even views – on the outgoing PM’s flagship policy.The fear is that “levelling up” has become a politically toxic term because of its association with Mr Johnson and that the entire initiative may be dropped as a result.RecommendedNow, Conservatives in the north fear that such action could lead to defeat at the next election with swathes of the traditionally Labour seats that voted blue in 2019 turning red once again.“I don’t particularly care if the term ‘levelling up’ is kept or not because I’m not convinced it caught on with the public anyway,” says Dr Anthony Mullen, the leader of the Tories on Sunderland City Council. “But if nothing comes in to replicate what it was trying to do – improve investment and civic pride in these great northern cities and towns – then people will see that as a promise broken and a job half done, and they will vote accordingly.”In Bury – where the Conservative constituency of Bury North is the most marginal in the country – Russell Bernstein, leader of the Tory group on the borough council, said that the party should be shouting about what levelling up had achieved.“We’ve had in excess of £100m spent or promised here,” he reckoned.But he added that if the policy was discontinued mid-term, the backlash from voters would be severe. “If we ride back now, it’s not going to go down well because this is something voters bought into and believe in,” he said.Asked if he feared it was likely, he said not with his preferred candidate Tom Tugendhat.But with others? “I’m less convinced all the candidates have that same commitment,” he replied without expanding on who he meant.The growing disquiet comes after Mr Houchen – a much-admired figure among northern Tories – went public to reveal his own worries.“It is absolutely a huge concern to me at the moment that we’re not hearing anything from the contenders because I genuinely believe that the thing that got Boris Johnson his massive majority was obviously Brexit and his pitch to the country but also levelling up,” he told Channel Four news. Recommended“Certainly to first-time Conservative voters, and people who voted Labour for generations, it is a hugely important thing.”Meanwhile, Mr Berry – who is MP for Rossendale and Darwen – has written to each candidate suggesting that to win support from northern MPs, they must “commit” to a series of pledges including a new funding formula and a dedicated minister for the region. More

Conservative party leadership frontrunner Rishi Sunak has promised to run the economy like Margaret Thatcher if he suceeds Boris Johnson at No 10.The former chancellor, who has clashed with other contenders for refusing to promise immediate tax cuts, has said his economic vision amounted to “common sense Thatcherism”.Mr Sunak on Tuesday evening joined seven other contenders on the ballot paper as Tory MPs begin voting on Wednesday to elect a successor to the prime minister. More

The Conservative Party’s vice chairman Sir Mike Penning has resigned from his position in order to campaign publicly for leadership contender Penny Mordaunt.“As vice-chair I was unable to declare who I would like to vote for,” he told Sky News. “I stepped down this afternoon”.Sir Mike said his constituents wanted a “fresh start”, suggesting the “momentum” is now with Ms Mordaunt, who launched her campaign on Wednesday claiming she is the candidate Labour “fears the most”.“Penny has all the attributes that we’re looking for now, she’s very down to earth, she’s served her country as defence secretary and in the Royal Navy, and particularly in my constituency she will go down very well,” he added.RecommendedSir Mike’s remarks came just moments Ms Mordaunt emerged second in the first ballot of MPs, with chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt both eliminated from the contest.Rishi Sunak won the most support from colleagues, with 88 MPs backing his leadership bid, but he was closely followed by Ms Mordaunt on 67 while Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, was in third place with 50.Earlier, Ms Mordaunt emerged as the favourite to win the contest if she makes the final round next week, with aYouGov snap poll of 879 Tory members saw 27 per cent respond they would favour her to succeed Boris Johnson in No 10.Former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch was in second place on 15 per cent while Rishi Sunak, who resigned as chancellor last week, and foreign secretary Liz Truss tied on 13 per cent.Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, had the support of 8 per cent, while attorney-general Suella Braverman was on 5 per cent. More