Tory leadership race latest news: Penny Mordaunt gains ground on Rishi Sunak as Braverman ousted in second round

Five Conservative Party leadership hopefuls are jostling to make into the final two in the race to be the next prime minister, having made their appeal to MPs for support.

Rishi Sunak launched his campaign with a video about his upbringing, Penny Mordaunt raised eyebrows with some bombastic flag-waving, and Liz Truss played it safe by setting out her stall as the “trust” candidate.

Mark Borkowski, one of Britain’s top PR experts, said some of the remaining contenders had launched impressively “slick” campaigns – but still had a long way to go in connecting with the country the way Boris Johnson once did.

The communications professional ranked the candidates’ branding efforts, giving The Independent his verdict on how their presentational style might fare with party members and the wider public.

Read more from Adam Forrest here:

Suella Braverman says she will back Liz Truss to be the new Conservative leader after being ousted in the race to succeed Boris Johnson – in a move that dramatically heightens the stakes.

If Ms Braverman’s backers do likewise, the support will bring the foreign secretary within touching distance of second-placed Penny Mordaunt and boost Ms Truss’s campaign.

Sources have told The Independent the attorney-general will lend her vote to the foreign secretary in the third round of the battle to be PM.

My colleagues Jane Dalton and Chris Baynes have more details here:

Kemi Badenoch’s campaign said she is “in it to win” and has no intention of stepping down, after former Brexit minister Lord Frost’s called for her to quit the Tory leadership race in favour of Liz Truss.

In a statement, Ms Badenoch’s spokesperson said: “Kemi has brought interesting ideas and a new approach to this leadership contest. She is looking forward to the debates this weekend.”

Firms including those behind popular TV programmes such as Peaky Blinders, The Crown, and Ackley Bridge, have written an open letter to the candidates, adding their support to a campaign launched last month, co-ordinated by We Own It.

The 16 independent production companies are asking the candidates to commit to dropping the privatisation plan for Channel 4.

They believe the election of a new Prime Minister offers an opportunity to keep Channel 4 in public hands.

The open letter highlights that as a publicly owned broadcaster funded through advertising, Channel 4 does not cost the taxpayer a penny, instead returning a profit of £74 million last year and contributing £1 billion to the economy, supporting 10,000 jobs and 15,000 training opportunities.

Matthew Topham, We Own It lead campaigner, said: “Channel 4 is the levelling-up broadcaster. Its unique business model makes working in TV and film production a realistic dream, no matter where you live in the UK.”

“Right now, Channel 4 supports 10,000 jobs, with hubs in Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol, and Cardiff, but cuts to one in three regional jobs are predicted under a private Channel 4, and 60 independent production companies are expected to go bust if the plans go ahead.”

Former Brexit minister Lord Frost has thrown his support behind Liz Truss as he urged Kemi Badenoch to pull out of the Tory leadership contest so there can be “unity among free marketeers”.

In an article in the Daily Telegraph, the 57-year-old wrote: “Liz’s depth of experience, her energy and ideas – as well as the simple fact she has the most votes of the three – put her in the lead.”

“It is now time for pragmatism. I urge Kemi to stand down in return for a serious job in a Truss administration.”

The Police Bravery Awards is taking place tonight in central London, where officers from each force have been nominated for feats including fighting sword and axe-wielding men, chasing suspects after being stabbed, dragging people out of burning buildings and jumping into rivers to save lives.

Priti Patel received nominees at Downing Street earlier today but is not at the awards night, leaving the new policing minister, Tom Pursglove, leading the government delegation.

He told a hotel banquet suite packed with police officers that getting the call offering the policing minister job days ago after the government meltdown was a surprise but he “didn’t have to think for a second” before saying yes.

He was warmly received by officers after they were told both his parents served in the police, and he said taking the new ministerial post was the “honour of his life”.

Mr Pursglove says he hopes to keep his new job in September, although he is backing Liz Truss, who isn’t favoured to win the Tory leadership race.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, later appeared on stage to present one of the awards.

She said that whoever wins, it will be a “step forward to have a prime minister who doesn’t break the law”, sparking some cheers, applause and laughter from the gathered police officers.

Earlier in the evening, there was more measured applause for a recorded speech played on large video screens from Boris Johnson, who praised their bravery and pledged the government’s support for police.

Tom Tugendhat suggested he would scrap the policy of privatising Channel 4 if he won the Tory leadership contest.

He told LBC radio: “I don’t think it’s a good idea – there are many other priorities.”

Mr Tugendhat also said he would not scrap the BBC licence fee.

“It felt like more of a victory party than just another Westminster drinks,” said an attendee at the garden gathering.

Penny Mordaunt had reason to celebrate: she’s gone from being branded an outsider to a comfortable second place behind former chancellor Rishi Sunak, writes Anna Isaac.

Liz Truss has been accused of “black ops” in a desperate fight to stay in the leadership race, as an ally hit out at MPs who had pledged to vote for her but broke their promises.

Two leading supporters of the foreign secretary branded Penny Mordaunt unfit to be prime minister, as the contest turned nastier.

Amid the Tory infighting a senior Truss supporter said: “This is the most duplicitous lying electorate you have ever come across.”

Kemi Badenoch said she was disappointed that Suella Braverman will back Liz Truss.

She told LBC: “I am disappointed. Suella and I are friends, I’m friends with Tom Tugendhat as well, Rishi and Liz were my senior ministers, so it’s all very close to home.

“We’re all friends, so every time someone supports one person there’s another person that’s been let down. But I’m in it to win it.

“I know people want to support the person that they think is most likely to give them a job, or who has been there the longest, that’s the easy thing to do. The tough thing to do is to take a risk and try something different.”