LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss's camp on Friday urged Conservative right-wingers to unite behind her lagging leadership campaign, as the five remaining contenders headed into the first television debate.
Truss came third in the latest ballot of Tory members of parliament (MPs) on Thursday, in a process designed to whittle the race next week down to two finalists, who will present their case to the party's rank-and-file members next month.
Former finance minister Rishi Sunak again came first, followed by Penny Mordaunt, the surprise package of the race.
The Royal Navy reservist, who was briefly Britain's first woman defence secretary, polls well with the members but is under scathing attack for her inexperience, stance on transgender rights and alleged incompetence in government jobs.
Speaking on the Sky News channel, long-shot candidate Tom Tugendhat decried the worsening acrimony as "a knife fight in a phone box", calling for the party to focus instead on governing and taking the fight to the opposition Labour party.
Truss has backing from prominent loyalists of prime minister Boris Johnson, who was forced last week to announce his resignation as Tory leader in the face of a cabinet insurrection led partly by Sunak, following months of scandal.
While Johnson says he will stay above the fray, his supporters have spoken acidly against Sunak, and point to Truss as the most experienced contender left from the party's right wing.
But she faces a challenge from Mordaunt just to reach the final two.
Attorney-General Suella Braverman was eliminated on Thursday and threw her support behind Truss, accusing Mordaunt of failing to "stand up for women".
Former Brexit minister David Frost wrote in The Daily Telegraph that Mordaunt had been "absent on parade" when they worked together on negotiations with Brussels last year.
"It is now time for pragmatism," he said, urging fourth-placed candidate Kemi Badenoch "to stand down in return for a serious job in a Truss administration".
Like Tugendhat, Badenoch is another insurgent with no cabinet experience but is drawing favourable coverage from some right-wing commentators for her "anti-woke" credentials and innovative policy platform.
Rejecting Frost's appeal, her campaign said she was "in it to win".
Meanwhile, Mordaunt pushed back at Frost's attacks, condemning "black ops" from rival camps.
"Anyone going for this job needs to be tested and scrutinised," she told Sky News.
"People obviously are trying to stop me getting into the final because they don't want to run against me."
The evening debate was being hosted by Britain's Channel 4 — a state-owned network known for its edgy programming, which Johnson's government is seeking controversially to privatise.
After days of talking only to their supporters and select reporters, it offers a chance in particular for the lesser-known contenders to pitch their arguments to a national TV audience.
The wealthy Sunak is a polished media performer but faces questions over his family's tax affairs and long-term commitment to Britain. Until last year, he held a Green Card conferring residency in the United States.
Badenoch and Tugendhat have won plaudits this week for their straight-talking style. Truss was described as "robotic" by more than one commentator after formally launching her campaign on Thursday.
Mordaunt remains largely an unknown quantity. She is remembered for making misleading claims in a TV interview during Britain's Brexit referendum campaign in 2016.
Before the Channel 4 debate, the candidates were gathering for the first time at an online hustings organised by the ConservativeHome website, starting at 12pm GMT (8pm Malaysia).
The final two will appear before the grassroots membership at a series of hustings in the coming weeks, before the winner is announced on Sept 5, tasked with helming Britain through a cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine, and drawing a line under Johnson's chaotic premiership. – AFP