LIZ AND RISHI BID TO PUT BRAKE ON PENNY

TORY BIG BEASTS CLASH OVER WHO HAS KEY EXPERIENCE TO TAKE OVER AS PM

- Nicholas Cecil, David Bond, Rachael Burford,Caroline Nokes

 

The three frontrunners in the Tory leadership race were locked in a fierce battle today over who has the top-level experience to be the next Prime Minister.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss officially launched her leadership bid and ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak took to the airwaves after former international development secretary Penny Mordaunt was seen at Westminster to have gained early momentum.

She came second in the first round of voting, with the backing of 67 MPs, after a widely-praised launch and a poll which showed she would beat the other two in the vote among party members.

But Ms Mordaunt has less experience at the Government top table and her rivals were seeking to exploit this as the leadership race heated up.

She was also hit by ferocious attacks by hardline Brexiteers, who claimed she was not up to the job of PM, but responded by defiantly tweeting: “The March of Mordaunt!”

The Tory infighting erupted ahead of the second round of voting around lunchtime today.

At her launch in central London this morning, Ms Truss highlighted the string of Cabinet posts that she has held, saying: “I am ready to be Prime Minister from day one.”

She stressed that as Foreign Secretary she had “stood up” to Vladimir Putin, as International Trade Secretary had “struck dozens of new deals with major partners” and as Chief Secretary to the Treasury had a “firm grip on the nation’s finances”.