Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt in battle to stay in Tory leadership race

Ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak finished first in the second round of MP voting on Thursday.

Ms Mordaunt came in second and Ms Truss came in third, with the eliminated candidate, Attorney-General Suella Braverman, endorsing Ms Truss.

Lord Frost, writing in the Daily Telegraph, urged former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, who finished fourth in Thursday’s MP vote, to drop out and back Ms Truss “in exchange for a serious job” in government.

Ms Badenoch’s campaign, on the other hand, stated that she had “no intention of stepping down” and was “in it to win.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said during a visit to Germany that his party did not “fear any of the candidates.”

He went on to say that “the change the UK needs is not a change at the top of the Conservative Party,” but rather the election of a completely new government, and he accused the candidates of “squabbling like cats in a bag.”

With the Conservative leadership race down to five candidates and the first of three live TV debates on Friday evening, the rhetoric from opposing camps is becoming more bitter and personal.

Lord Frost slammed Ms Mordaunt, a former subordinate, on Talk TV. she “did not master the detail that was required” and was “absent on parade” during Brexit talks with the EU

Sir Iain questioned Ms Mordaunt’s suitability for the job of Prime Minister, telling LBC: “We can’t just elect somebody because they look better than others for a short period of time.”

“What we’re actually electing isn’t a popularity contest in any way.”

Julian Knight, another Truss supporter, told BBC 5 live about Ms Mordaunt: “We don’t need an accidental prime minister.”

Ms Mordaunt’s opponents’ supporters have also criticised her comments on trans rights while she was equalities minister.

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