Ex-soldier Tugendhadt on PM manoeuvres

It comes after the prime minister could finally get sight of the highly anticipated “partygate” inquiry report from senior civil servant Sue Gray after police insisted they had not delayed its publication.

No 10 had still not received a copy of the report into possible lockdown breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall yesterday morning.

It is widely believed that either Chancellor Rishi Sunak or Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are frontrunners to win the top job if the prime minister is ousted.

But the Daily Mail has reported that centrist Tories are backing ex-soldier Tom Tugendhat.

The newspaper said some Conservative MPs believe the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) chairman represents the “best chance for a fresh start”.

The MP for Tonbridge and Malling told Times Radio on Saturday: “I think I’m making it pretty clear that I think that it’s up to all of us to put ourselves forward. And it’s up to the electorate, in the first case parliamentary colleagues, and in the second case the party, to choose.

“I think it’s a position of absolute integrity to say that of course you should offer yourself to the electorate if you think you can do it. Of course you should talk to colleagues and see if you can get a group together, and if you can get a group together you should go for it.

“Now I haven’t been canvassing support so I don’t know if I’d be able to get the first group together – you’ve got to get a group first. But if you could, of course you should have a go.”

On being prime minister, he said: “It would be a huge privilege. It’s one of those questions that I know many people ask and some people, some of my colleagues, are coy about and I don’t understand why.

“I don’t think you should be embarrassed to want to serve your country. I was very proud to serve my country in the armed forces and I got to the highest rank I could so that I could have the best effect that I could. And I was very proud to serve as a diplomat around the world.”

In December, Mr Tugendhadt said there had been a “lack of leadership, urgency and adequate resourcing” in the evacuation from Afghan capital Kabul.