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Britain will play no part in attacking Iran, a former defence minister has said after Tehran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, 1 October.When asked if he expects the US or UK to be part of any Israeli response, Tobias Ellwood – who lost his seat at the 2024 general election – said he was firm about his belief.“The move to actually attack Iran moves us into a very dangerous place indeed,” he said.British forces “played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East” on Tuesday, defence secretary John Healey said.It came as Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tehran will “pay a price” after it fired missiles at Israel following an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. More

Tom Tugendhat has criticised Robert Jenrick for using footage of his friend, a Special Forces soldier, in a video claiming that British special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.The former immigration minister made the claim in a clip promoting his campaign to be the next Conservative party leader.His leadership contest rival told Newsnight that the footage contained images of a soldier who died shortly after the footage was filmed.”What’s particularly upsetting is that video is using a piece of footage of some of the people I served with, one of who died shortly after that film was taken in an accident and is not able to defend himself against the allegation that is being effectively levelled against him,” Mr Tugendhat said. More

Robert Jenrick has revealed that his daughter is named after former Conservative prime minister Margaret Tatcer.During an interview on the main stage of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Tuesday (1 October), the former immigration minister said he thought it would be a “good way of reminding her of a great prime minister.”Asked what his daughter’s middle name is, Mr Jenrick responded: “You’re embarrassing her now.“It is Margaret Thatcher”, he joked, adding: “No, it’s not, it’s ‘Thatcher’. She was born the year Margaret Thatcher died.” More

A young Tory member has explained the key step Conservatives must take to win back voters.Daniel Campbell, 20, spoke to The Independent as he attended his first Tory party conference in Birmingham on Monday (30 September).Mr Cambpell believes it is vital for the party to appeal to the younger generation following a disastrous general election campaign earlier this year.“The vast majority of our voters are older, but we need the next generation of voters,” he said.“We need to convince voters we are good people and not after power or money.“We need to win the people back.” More

From James Cleverly cups and Kemi Badenoch cola bottles, to Tom Tugendhat fake tan and Robert Jenrick baseball hats.These are just some of the Conservative leadership candidate’s merchandise available at the party conference in Birmingham.The Independent took a closer look at the products on offer from the four hopefuls wanting to replace Rishi Sunak as leader.The contest is set to go from four to two in the next fortnight, and then members will have their final choice in the run-off. While the merchandise may not truly swing votes, it does give an indication of the strength of each campaign team. More

Former Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis has claimed that he is unable to get a job as a teacher because he is a Tory.Speaking at the party conference in Birmingham on Monday, 30 September, Mr Gullis was asked if he thinks that the teaching profession specifically goes against him as he is a Conservative.Gullis, who lost his seat in the 2024 general election to a Labour candidate, explained that he believes schools “will see who I used to represent and maybe my views, which they may not like” and because of that will not give him an interview. More

Kemi Badenoch has suggested she feels sympathy for Labour MPs because they “had no idea what they were getting themselves into”.During an appearance on LBC, the Conservative leadership hopeful discussed the stark difference between being in opposition and being in government.“We’re not in charge anymore, we lost the election, but we understand what it is like,” Ms Badenoch explained.“Sometimes I actually feel very sympathetic for Labour MPs and ministers, because they had no idea what they were getting themselves into and you can see they’re making a horlicks of so much.”Ms Badenoch went on to suggest she would be a strong communicator if elected as the new Tory leader. More

Following on from their election defeat and Rishi Sunak departing, the Conservatives have been locked in a leadership campaign to pick the next party leader.Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat are the final four vying to win the leadership and return a fractious party back to power from Kier Starmer’s Labour. But who will win and who’s most likely to succeed? Kate Devlin and John Rentoul cast an eye over the field of candidates and pick who they think is next face Kier Starmer at the dispatch box in Westminster. More