Tory party conference LIVE: New poll reveals ‘outsider’ within touching distance of Kemi

Robert Jenrick insisted his “values haven’t changed” when asked why he voted to remain in the EU in the referendum but later backed leaving the bloc.

The Tory leadership frontrunner told Radio 4’s Today programme: “I got behind the democratic decision of the people of this country.”

He added that he had realised while serving as a minister in the Home Office that “we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe”.

He insisted: “My values haven’t changed, but it’s certainly true that over time the things I have seen in the ministerial jobs that I have done have led me to conclusions that the British state isn’t working in the interests of the British people, and in particular my time at the Home Office where I saw that we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe, which to my mind is the most basic duty of our country.”

Robert Jenrick was unable to say whether he knows that UK special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”, as he claimed in a promotional video for his Tory leadership campaign.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The point I was making was one that our former defence secretary Ben Wallace has made, which is that our human rights apparatus including the ECHR is encroaching on the battlefield.

“And it is impacting the decisions that our generals and military decision-makers are taking as to what kind of action is required in these difficult situations.”

Repeatedly asked whether he knew special forces were killing rather than capturing terrorists, he said: “As Ben Wallace has said in that interview, decision makers are being asked to make decisions which they might not ordinarily make, for example to call in a drone strike and take lethal action in that way.”

It was put to him that he was unable to back up his claim, to which he replied: “Of course I’m not going to elaborate on particular cases because these things, these cases are not things that any minister or foreign minister can speak about.”

Kemi Badenoch following a backlash after she suggested maternity pay was “excessive”.

The Tory leadership contender insisted yesterday (MON) that she believes paying new mothers is “quite important” after rivals attacked her comments.

has launched a scathing attack on , accusing his erstwhile protege of ending his political career with a betrayal similar to that of Brutus in murdering Julius Caesar.

The former Prime Minister in the latest extract from his memoirs, claiming his former chancellor, whom he once saw as a “friend and partner,” of orchestrating a plot “worse than a crime”.

He claimed that when Mr Sunak attempted to oust him by resigning from his cabinet in July 2022, Mr Johnson quietly echoed the dying words of Julius Caesar, “You too, child.”

Mr Johnson insisted he did not blame Mr Sunak for wanting to become PM “prematurely,” but emphasised his belief that he he would have won the 2024 election, unlike his rival, who was “vaporised”.

Migrants could be housed in hotels for due to the asylum backlog, an insider has claimed, dealing a massive blow to Sir ’s fledgling Government.

Since coming into office, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and other ministers have come to realise that clearing the backlog will take longer than initially hoped, the Times reported – with the number of people waiting for an initial decision actually increasing slightly in the three months since the election.

he party had promised to resolve the issue and “end asylum hotels,” but a Whitehall source described the situation as “much worse than we thought.”

They added: “It’s going to take much longer to clear than we anticipated. It certainly won’t be cleared within a year.”

Robert Jenrick is closing in on Kemi Badenoch following a surge in his support, a YouGov poll of Conservative members has suggested.

The most significant change over the past six weeks has been Ms Badenoch losing her substantial lead over Mr Jenrick among Tory members, according to the first poll conducted since the leadership race was narrowed to four candidates.

Six weeks ago, Conservative members favoured Ms Badenoch by 59 percent to Mr Jenrick’s 41 percent six weeks ago – an 18-point lead – if the two were to face each other in the final round.

However, the latest survey of 802 Tory members, published today, suggests Ms Badenoch is on 52 percent compared with Mr Jenrick’s 48 percent, a leader of just four points.