The Tory leadership debate – as it happened

On Friday night the Tory leadership candidates faced-off in the first televised debate of the contest, hosted on Channel 4. The five contenders – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat – set out their stalls on trust in politics, tax cuts and the NHS ahead of the next round of voting on Monday.

A snap poll carried out by Opinion after the debate put Tom Tugendhat in first place, followed by Rishi Sunak, and then Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch. Liz Truss came in last. 

Follow the debate as it happened below: 

9.21pm – Sunak’s second place will calm nerves

Katy Balls writes… The snap poll from tonight’s debate puts Tom Tugendhat ahead with Rishi Sunak in second place. Already Tugendhat’s supporters are heralding it as a big victory. However, given Tugendhat was effectively going against much of government policy in the debate, Sunak’s high polling is as significant. It is likely to calm nerves after a tricky few days in which critics have said his campaign has stalled.