Tory MP Calls For Parliament To Be Abolished In Angry Rant Over China Spy Row

Posted on 16/10/2025 by Boris Clair

A Tory MP has called for parliament to be abolished over the government’s handling of the China spy row.

Tom Tugendhat, a former security minister, said the UK “clearly, this isn’t a democracy any more” because it is being run by “bureaucrats” rather than politicians.

He hit out after the government defended its actions following the collapse of a trial involving two British men accused of spying for China.

Critics have accused the government of deliberately sabotaging the case to avoid upsetting China as ministers try to improve relations with Beijing.

But Keir Starmer has insisted the decision to drop the case was taken independently by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The prime minister took the unprecedented move on Wednesday of publishing witness statements provided to the CPS by Matthew Collins, the deputy national security adviser.

In them, he repeatedly described China’s espionage activities make it a “threat” to the UK, but also acknowledged that the government wants to maintain economic ties with Beijing.

In the Commons on Thursday, Cabinet Office minister Chris Ward said: “The prime minister will not, and no government would, interfere with the CPS. It’s entirely their decision to charge.”

He also insisted that the contents of Collins’ evidence had not been influenced by any minister or other government adviser.

But Tugendhat – who had earlier been reprimanded by Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle for calling the minister “a pathetic little man” – said it was not good enough for the government to say there was nothing they could do.

He said: “Given that the government’s position is that the bureaucrats run the government, the bureaucrats are in charge of everything, may we dissolve this House and save the taxpayer the money? Because clearly, this isn’t a democracy any more.”

Hoyle replied: “I’m sure [Mr Tugendhat] doesn’t want to give up his seat quite so quickly.”

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Official Secrets Act Urgent Question

Point of Order:

Tom Tugendhat

Calls for dissolution of Parliament seeing as the Civil Servants are running the country.

I think many of us could get behind that request… pic.twitter.com/yXwSEYRkyj

— Baa Ram Ewe 🏴🐑🐷🦃🚜 (@ShepherdWales) October 16, 2025

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Official Secrets Act Urgent Question

Point of Order:

Tom Tugendhat

Calls for dissolution of Parliament seeing as the Civil Servants are running the country.

I think many of us could get behind that request… pic.twitter.com/yXwSEYRkyj

— Baa Ram Ewe 🏴🐑🐷🦃🚜 (@ShepherdWales) October 16, 2025

What’s The Tory? Can The Next Conservative Leader Capitalise On Labour’s Woes?

Posted on 27/09/2024 by Boris Clair

Maybe the Conservatives don’t really need a new leader, after all.

Remarkably, the party has actually gained seven local council seats in the past five weeks after suffering a landslide general election defeat less than three months ago.

That is despite the fact that, for all intents and purposes, the Tories are effectively leaderless at the moment.

Rishi Sunak is still nominally in charge. But even those close to him concede that he mentally checked out of the job on the morning of July 5.

Indeed, the former PM will hardly be seen at the Conservatives’ annual conference in Birmingham, which kicks off on Sunday. He will address a members-only reception that evening, and is expected to play no further part in the proceedings.

Instead, the conference will be a political beauty contest, as James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick fight for the right to succeed Sunak as Tory boss.

The Conservatives’ poll ratings have recently ticked up slightly, although this has more to do with the Labour government’s ongoing woes than a sudden wave of affection for the Tories.

Polling by Savanta, seen by HuffPost UK, confirms that the general public have stopped paying attention to the party.

Given a choice of who would make the best opposition leader, Sunak, Nigel Farage or Ed Davey, the most popular answer was “don’t know”.

Emma Levin, associate director at Savanta, said: “There is clearly a big gap in British politics for an opposition politician to properly take Keir Starmer to task. But that hasn’t happened yet.”

One former Tory cabinet member, who is yet to decide who to back in the leadership race, told HuffPost UK that the conference is an opportunity to show the public that the party still exists.

“Labour being so shit has just overwhelmed everything,” he said. “I’m genuinely surprised that they’re making a lot of very basic mistakes.

“People have forgotten all about Rishi Sunak. It has all been about Labour and how bad they’ve been.”

The MP said he hoped that one of the four remaining candidates may emulate David Cameron, who used the party conference in 2005 to destroy his more-favoured rival, David Davis.

“This year’s conference is about bringing the leadership contest back to centre stage, and highlighting what the differences are between the contenders.

“We’ll be looking to see how they perform, whether they commit any gaffes and whether any of them can do a Cameron-esque performance that blows everyone else away.”

Under the rules of the contest, the remaining four will be whittled down to three and then two by a couple of ballots of Tory MPs when Westminster returns the week after next. It will then be up to the party’s members to decide the winner, who will be announced on November 2.

The contenders: clockwise from top left, Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly

Former immigration minister Jenrick is now the bookies’ favourite, overtaking the previous frontrunner Badenoch.

One of his supporters said: “There is a lot of momentum behind Robert’s campaign, but he’s not taking anything for granted, he’s going to keep working hard to persuade MPs to support his positive case for change.

“He’s the only candidate who can win back voters on the left and right with his focus on the big issues and his serious, credible answers on the key challenges of the day, such as immigration, NHS reform and growing our economy.”

But a Badenoch campaign source insisted she was very much still in the race.

He said: “Kemi has been touring the country solidly for the past few months, going from Conservative association to Conservative association and getting an amazing reception from the members.

“All the independent polling puts her way out ahead with our membership. This conference is a chance to show MPs she is the members’ choice – the one with the star quality to cut through as a leader of the opposition and take the fight to Labour.”

Cleverly, a former party chairman, foreign secretary and home secretary, is seen by many as the dark horse of the contest, with even a senior figure in a rival campaign admitting he is “under-priced” by the bookies.

A source on his campaign described the conference as “a home fixture”, given his popularity with the party’s rank-and-file.

“He is a party man who loves campaigning and engaging with the activists and members – and he gets a consistently good reception from them wherever he goes, mainly because he knows half of them,” the source said.

“His approach is to engage as much as possible with the members, to set out his pitch as the unity candidate and the most experienced candidate who is ready to hit the ground running from day one as leader.”

It is barely 12 weeks since the Tories were reduced to just 121 MPs in the House of Commons, a statistical irrelevance when compared to Labour’s 411 and fewer than 50 seats ahead of the Lib Dems.

Whoever wins the leadership race faces a monumental task in trying to return the party to power at the next election.

Nevertheless, there remains a flicker of optimism among the party that the new Labour government’s struggles are not just a blip, but a sign that their seemingly-impregnable Commons majority could be wiped out at the first attempt.

They believe there is some light at the end of a very long tunnel. Whether it turns out to be an oncoming train remains to be seen.

Voters Have Delivered A Brutal Verdict On The 6 Tory Leadership Candidates

Posted on 02/09/2024 by Boris Clair

Fewer than 10% of the public think any of the Tory leadership candidates would make them favourites to win the next election, a damning poll has found.

The survey, by the More in Common think-tank, found that 34% of voters replied “none of them” when asked which of the six hopefuls would the Tories most likely to form the next government. Some 36% said they “don’t know”.

James Cleverly came top on just 8%, followed by Priti Patel on 7%, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch on 5% each, Robert Jenrick on 4% and Mel Stride on just 2%.

Even those who voted Tory in the last election are less-than-convinced by the choice on offer, the poll found.

Nearly one-third of them (32) said they “don’t know” which candidate will give the party the best chance of winning next time around, while 16% said “none of them”.

Cleverly again came top on 15%, with Patel second once more on 10%, with Badenoch on 9%, Jenrick and Tugendhat on 8% and Stride once again on 2%.

The poll also found that Patel is the only candidate recognised by more than half of the electorate.

Some 52% correctly identified the former home secretary when shown a picture of her, with 44% recognising Cleverly.

Badenoch came third with 37%, Jenrick was next on 21%, then Tugendhat on 19% and Stride with 12%.

Whoever wins also faces an uphill battle when they take on Keir Starmer, the poll found.

According to the public, none of them would make a better prime minister than the Labour leader, who enjoys a comfortable lead over each of his potential rivals.

Starmer is ahead of each of the candidates on who would make the better PM.

The findings were published as Tory MPs prepare for the first ballot of the contest, when the number of candidates will be reduced from six to five.

A second ballot will take place next week, after which the final four candidates will try to woo the party faithful at the Tory conference in Birmingham.

MPs will then choose the final two, who will be voted on my Tory members before the winner is announced on November 2.

Tory Leadership Hopeful Tom Tugendhat Slams Elon Musk And Nigel Farage

Posted on 13/08/2024 by Boris Clair

A Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has hit out at Elon Musk and Nigel Farage in his first major speech since announcing his bid to lead the Tories.

Musk, who owns the social media platform X, has criticised PM Keir Starmer repeatedly over his response to the far-right riots in recent weeks, and even claimed “civil war is inevitable” in the UK.

Tugendhat, a former security minister, responded to those remarks on Tuesday afternoon, saying: “Frankly I found those comments delusional and simply false.

“The question as to how we operate on social media is a difficult one.”

He added: “I refuse to be on TikTok because the algorithm is set by a foreign dictatorship. Others make different choices.”

He did not say politicians should quit X though, after a handful of Labour MPs left.

Tugendhat also ruled out making a deal with populist party Reform UK if he became Tory leader, and said he would not allow the party’s leader Farage into the Conservatives.

He claimed that Farage has been “deeply irresponsible and dangerous” over the riots in trying to amplify “false information”.

The Reform leader had suggested the police were withholding information from the public over the Southport stabbings.

Tugendhat slammed Farage for criticising the breakdown of law and order, “but not the riots themselves”.

Tugendhat also discussed the conspiracy theory that there is “two-tier” policing in the UK, which claims the authorities treat some protesters more kindly than others.

Musk has even called the PM “Two tier Kier” over this claim, which Starmer – and the police – have vehemently denied.

Tugendhat, now the shadow security minister, said he did not believe there was a two-tier approach, but claimed there is sometimes “inconsistency”.

He said: “A two-tier approach suggests there is an active choice to treat communities differently. I don’t believe that that is the case.”

He claimed “inconsistency” leads to “lack of predictability”.

He added: “As security minister, I constantly had to encourage the police to make arrests on the day as crimes were being committed rather than waiting until after the protest had finished.”

Tugendhat will be competing alongside James Cleverly, Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch and Mel Stride to lead the Tory Party.

Most Brits Do Not Care Who The Next Tory Leader Is, Brutal New Poll Finds

Posted on 13/08/2024 by Boris Clair

Most Brits do not actually care who the next Conservative leader is, according to a new poll.

In yet another humiliating twist for the Tories – just a month after their worst ever electoral defeat, Ipsos UK has found 62% of Brits surveyed were not interested in following who would replace Rishi Sunak.

To make matters worse, that includes 36% of Conservative voters.

The pollsters found none of the candidates are very well known among the British public, despite all of them holding ministerial roles at some point.

Just 45% of the 1,091 adults surveyed said they know a great deal or a fair amount about former home secretary Priti Patel, followed by 26% for shadow home secretary James Cleverly, and 24% for shadow housing secretary Kemi Badenoch.

The polling, which took place between August 2 and 5, also found 34% of the public said they do not favour any of the current candidates.

There was a narrow preference for Cleverly among those surveyed, with 18% suggesting he would do a good job, followed by Patel (17%) and shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat (17%).

Badenoch is slightly behind on 14%, putting her on par with former migration minister Robert Jenrick.

Meanwhile, 9% thought shadow pensions secretary Mel Stride would do a good job leading the opposition – which, unfortunately, is the same percentage of respondents who backed a candidate called “Stuart Lewis”, a fake politician added to the poll by Ipsos.

But, it’s not all doom and gloom for Stride.

While a whopping 44% of respondents said they thought Patel would do a bad job, (and 22% thought the same of Badenoch, 20% of Cleverly, 15% of Jenrick, 11% of Tugendhat), just 9% said thought Stride would also perform poorly.

Trinh Tu, UK managing director, public affairs, said: “This new poll suggests high level of public apathy about the Conservative leadership race.”

She added that Patel seems to be most divisive figure at the moment, but for the most part, “Britons are unfamiliar with the main candidates and say they do not care very much about who will emerge at the winner”.

Meanwhile, 65% said a backing from ex-PM Liz Truss would give that candidate the worst chance of winning.

Far fewer (46%) said Reform leader and MP Nigel Farage would have a negative effect on a candidate’s hopes of victory, and 44% said the same for ex-PM Boris Johnson.

Only former PM and Rishi Sunak’s foreign secretary David Cameron was seen as the one who could have a positive impact overall – 31% said it would worsen a candidate’s chances with an endorsement, compared to 32% who said it would improve.

Tom Tugendhat Changes Tory Leadership Campaign Slogan After Unfortunate ‘TURD’ Spelling

Posted on 25/07/2024 by Boris Clair

Tom Tugendhat changed his campaign slogan shortly after launching his leadership bid with one which spelt out “TURD”.

The Tory MP for Tonbridge revealed his ambitions to lead the Conservative Party on Wednesday.

But, as noticed by outlet Guido Fawkes, there was a word hidden within the slogan on his leadership website.

The slogan read:

“Together we can,

“Unite the party.

“Rebuild trust.

“Defeat Labour.”

It has since been changed from “TURD” to “TURW”:

“Together we can,

“Unite the party.

“Rebuild trust.

“Win back the country.”

The slip-up came shortly after Tugendhat claimed he would be a Tory leader with “no games” and “no gimmicks”.

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Tom Tugendhat changes his slogan for the Conservative leadership contest after realising it spelt out “turd” (2024) pic.twitter.com/Vo09V1TICT

— insane moments in british politics (@PoliticsMoments) July 25, 2024

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Tom Tugendhat changes his slogan for the Conservative leadership contest after realising it spelt out “turd” (2024) pic.twitter.com/Vo09V1TICT

— insane moments in british politics (@PoliticsMoments) July 25, 2024

Unfortunately for Tugendhat, this is not the first time acronyms from his team have rather distracted from his campaign.

He launched a leadership bid in 2022 to replace Boris Johnson – only to end up with a logo which looked like the word “TiT”.

It was later edited to remove the middle white line so it just read “TT”.

He also made a speech in front of his own poster which read “a clean start”.

However, he accidentally sat in front of the word “clean” and the letter “s”, subsequently looking like he was posing besides the word “tart”.

He later joked: “Just to be clear, I am a massive fan of Bakewell. Lovely place, lovely tarts. Always happy to champion great British produce.”

The incident was widely compared to the satirical show The Thick of It.

He was knocked out of that contest and ended up backing Liz Truss, who went on to crash the economy and get kicked out of No.10 within just 49 days.

Tugendhat has since defended that decision, telling Good Morning Britain: “Liz displayed a recklessness that I think surprised all of us.”

Who Has Officially Joined The Tory Leadership Race?

Posted on 25/07/2024 by Boris Clair

The contest to replace Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party leader has officially begun, as Tories are gradually started to put themselves forward.

After enduring a historic defeat in the general election and walking away with just 121 seats in total, former PM Sunak said he was stepping back from the helm of the party when his successor was chosen.

As the fight for the soul of the party begins, it remains to be seen whether it will end up going for a more centrist figure, or leaning further right.

Here’s who has officially announced their leadership bids, who is expected to – and how long this whole competition is going to go on for…

1. James Cleverly

The former home secretary (who now shadows the same role) announced his plan to run on Tuesday, a day before nominations actually opened.

Seen as a moderate within the Conservative ranks, he has said the Conservatives need to “re-establish our reputation as the party who, in government, helps grow the economy, helps people achieve their goals, their dream and their aspirations”.

Alluding to the party’s historic loss at the ballot box, he said: “We must ditch the self-indulgent infighting and be ready to deliver when the next chance comes.”

According to a Savanta poll shared with Sky News, Cleverly has a net favourability of -9 with the general public.

He held several ministerial jobs under Boris Johnson before being appointed as the education secretary at the end of the ex-PM’s premiership.

He was foreign secretary for both Liz Truss and Sunak, and home secretary from November 2023 and July 2024.

2. Tom Tugendhat

Formerly the security minister, Tugendhat now shadows the same role on the other side of the House.

Although he launched his campaign with a bang by saying he would consider leaving the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights), he is usually perceived as a moderate in the one nation wing of the party.

He argued in an article for The Telegraph that he would prepared to leave the ECHR if institutions make it harder to control the country’s borders, claiming this was a “common sense Conservative position” to take.

The former army officer suggested defence spending should be pulled up to 3% of GDP, and claimed he was running “to be the next Conservative prime minister”.

He ran in the last leadership race in 2022, but was knocked out and chose to support Liz Truss instead.

He also chaired the foreign affairs select committee from 2017 to 2022.

According to the Savanta poll, he has a net favourability of -3, making him the most popular contender with the public so far.

However, party members historically to choose the more rightwing candidates.

3. Robert Jenrick

The former immigration and health minister – and one-time housing secretary – is on the right of the party.

A former ally of Sunak, he dramatically resigned from his cabinet in December claiming the Rwanda plan to deport illegal asylum seekers was not a strong enough deterrent.

He is expected to try and appeal to Tory members more sympathetic to Reform UK.

His campaign manager, Tory MP Danny Kruger, said Jenrick has the “energy, temperament and policy agenda to take on our rivals and lead us back to power in five years.”

He was not included in the Savanta poll because he did not run in the last leadership election in 2022.

Who else is expected to run?

Mel Stride, shadow work and pensions secretary, admitted at the weekend he was “considering” putting himself forward – he held onto his seat in the election by just 61 votes.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman and her predecessor Priti Patel are both expected to put themselves forward in the coming days.

Kemi Badenoch, shadow housing, communities and local government secretary, may also join the race.

Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins was expected to run, but she said she would not be in a social media post.

Rishi Sunak announced his resignation as Tory Party leader when he lost the general election

How will the process work?

The nominations for the candidates opened on July 24.

Each candidate needs to secure backing from 10 other MPs by July 29 to make it to the next round.

But, only around 100 MPs will be able to support a chosen candidate.

That’s because MPs who are whips or who sit on the executive backbencher 1922 committee cannot support a candidate.

It means only 10 Tories – at most – will be able to move to progress past this point in the race.

If two or more candidates get through, a campaign will take place throughout the summer.

In September, MPs cast their votes on the remaining candidates.

The four with the most votes will be selected, and all offered a chance to speak at the Tory party conference, (from September 29 to October 2), and MPs will vote again.

The two with the most vote go through to the next hurdle.

The remaining pair will then have to go before the party members, who will vote on their favourite candidate in an online ballot which closes on October 31.

To vote, members must have been “active” when the whole contest opened in July, and been members for at least 90 days before the ballot closes.

The new leader and official leader of the opposition will be confirmed on November 2, and Sunak’s time leading the Conservatives will officially end.

They will become the sixth leader of the Tory Party since 2016.

‘He Just Can’t Do Politics’: Tory Commentator Wants Sunak Out Before Election

Posted on 20/03/2024 by Boris Clair

A leading Tory commentator has said Rishi Sunak should not lead the Conservative Party into the general election in the latest bodyblow to the prime minister.

Tim Montgomerie, founder of ConservativeHome, told the BBC’s Daily Politics show that the party was in “freefall” amid the Labour Party’s double-digit poll lead.

It comes amid speculation unsettled Tory MPs are lining up Penny Mordaunt as a replacement for Sunak if he faced a no confidence vote before the general election. On Tuesday night, a Telegraph report suggested Tom Tugendhat is also being discussed as a “unity candidate” to replace the PM.

Montgomerie cited Robert Jenrick’s resignation as immigration minister, when he said Sunak wanted to enact a Rwanda policy “that would be enough to look like he was doing something but wouldn’t actually do something to actually solve the problem”.

“That, I’m afraid, is why I’ve reluctantly taken the decision … I think Rishi Sunak has to go as prime minister before the before the general election, because he just can’t do politics.

“I think he’s a good man, a family man, a decent man in public life for the right reasons.

“I study politics incredibly closely. I don’t really know what he wants to be prime minister for, what his ambition is, what legislation he wants to pass.”

He added: “If we have any chance at the next election of minimising the scale of defeat, we need to go into the election with an agenda for the future of this country. At the moment, I don’t even know what that is.”

“I have reluctantly taken the decision that Rishi Sunak has to go as Prime Minister,” says Conservative Home founder @montie, “before the general election. He just can’t do politics… At the moment the party is in freefall and I think that can’t go on.” ~AA #PoliticsLive pic.twitter.com/n1nJdSdfR7

— Best for Britain (@BestForBritain) March 19, 2024

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hinted the prime minister could go to the country in October, but Tory plotters may seek to oust him before then if the party’s fortunes do not improve.

Sunak will face prime minister’s Questions and then a behind-closed-doors appearance in front of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee on Wednesday.

Tory Minister Says Pro-Palestine March On Remembrance Day Should Be Stopped

Posted on 03/11/2023 by Boris Clair

A pro-Palestine march planned for Remembrance Day is “inappropriate”, security minister Tom Tugendhat has said.

He has written to London mayor Sadiq Khan, Westminster Council and the Metropolitan Police setting out his concerns about the event, which is due to take place on Saturday, November 11.

That is also Armistice Day, which marks the end of fighting in the First World War. A two-minute silence will be held at 11am.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Tugendhat said that the planned march was “a matter of great concern to me”.

He said: “I know that many of my fellow veterans will be looking forward to that day, not a day of joy but a day of grief. It’s a day when many of us remember those who aren’t standing with us, who aren’t there to lay a wreath, who aren’t there with their friends to have a beer afterwards and talk about the old days.

“It’s a moment when we remember those we lost and I think for the whole country, the Cenotaph is sacred ground and the idea that on a day like Remembrance Day you’d have a protest going past it, I don’t think that’s acceptable.”

However, organisers of the march have insisted they will not go past the Cenotaph, where politicians and veterans will lay poppy wreaths for Remembrance Sunday the following day.

Tugendhat said that in his letters, he had asked Sadiq Khan, Westminster Council and the Met to “look very carefully at the powers that they have and to consider what options they have available” with regard to the November 11 march.

He added: “Personally, I don’t think this is an appropriate time for a protest.”

HuffPost UK understands that only home secretary Suella Braverman has the power to ban the march.

Asked if the protest should be banned, Tugendhat said: “I think protest is incredibly important in a free society.

“I’m just saying the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday is a particularly sensitive time and a sensitive place and it’s a moment when the country comes together, and so I think there are moments where and places where that’s not appropriate.”

Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) is planning to bus protestors from Leicester to London to take part in the march calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

FOA spokesman Ismail Patel said: “We definitely will not be at the Cenotaph. We understand the sensitivity of the date.”

A Met Police spokesperson said the organisers of the November 11 march were considering different locations in London.

He said: “They have indicated they are planning a march on the Saturday, but that they are considering different locations given the sensitives around this date,” the spokesperson said.”

Cabinet Ministers Dutifully Declare ‘Support’ For Liz Truss By Posting An Infographic

Posted on 15/10/2022 by Boris Clair

Members of the Liz Truss cabinet have rallied round the beleaguered prime minister – but their efforts failed to convince.

On Friday, the plagued mini-budget struck again as the PM sacked her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as she abandoned plans to freeze corporation tax.

A desperate attempt to reset her premiership saw Truss appoint Jeremy Hunt as Kwarteng’s replacement in the Treasury, which was followed by a press conference that was as short as it was unapologetic.

But some in her top team offered support, taking to Twitter to post an infographic with a quotation from the media briefing, where she said: “We will deliver the strong and sustained growth that can transform the prosperity of our country for generations to come.”

Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury, raised eyebrows when he simply tweeted: “The prime minister has my support.”

It also brought to mind footballer Victor Anichebe’s “tweet something like” classic.

Therese Coffey, Ranil Jayawardena and Jake Berry followed.

The PM is right to act now to ensure our country’s economic stability – key for families and businesses – and reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline, especially in light of the worsening global economic conditions with Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. https://t.co/LChPGrnhOR

— Thérèse Coffey (@theresecoffey) October 14, 2022

The Prime Minister has acted in the national interest to reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline and provide economic stability. pic.twitter.com/Mf8PgDniX0

— Ranil Jayawardena MP (@ranil) October 14, 2022

But Tom Tugendhat, minister of state for security who attends cabinet, resisted adding a message of support to the graphic – while Kemi Bandenoch resisted adding the graphic to her message of support.

The international trade secretary, who came fourth in the Conservative party leadership contest earlier this year, wrote: “To say it’s been a difficult day would be an understatement. We knew the scale of the challenge this autumn given multiple global headwinds would be unprecedented. Our Prime Minister is working flat out to get the country through these turbulent times. She has my full support.”

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