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Kathleen Nutt

Political Correspondent

A SENIOR Scottish Tory is currently closely considering one of Boris Johnson's earliest and leading critics as potentially their favourite candidate to become the next Conservative leader and Prime Minister.

Former soldier Tom Tugendhat is regarded in the party north of the border as a strong counterpoint to Mr Johnson who was dramatically forced to quit as Tory chief last week after his Cabinet and MPs turned against him following a series of scandals and concerns over his integrity.

"Tom is principled, genuine, thoughtful and resourceful," the senior MSP Conservative Stephen Kerr told The Herald on Sunday.

"Many people say he would be a fresh start."

Mr Kerr, who was a MP from 2017 to 2019, got to know his Kent colleague well when they sat in the same area of the Commons during the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions.

The Central Scotland MSP, a close ally of Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, invited Mr Tugendhat to the party's conference Spring conference in Aberdeen in March for a breakfast fringe meeting.

The event proved to be among the most popular sessions with around 100 members packed into the room and standing outside in the corridor to hear him discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the worrying geopolitical situation.

Mr Tugendhat, 49, is the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and was highly scathing of the Johnson Government's handling of the pull out of the military from Afghanistan in August last year.

The former army officer, and a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict, said the withdrawal operation was the "single biggest foreign policy disaster" the UK had faced since the Suez crisis in the 1950s.

Mr Tugendhat formally launched his leadership bid on Friday, though he was the first Conservative MP to put himself forward as a possible successor to Mr Johnson in January this year as senior civil servant Sue Gray prepared her report into parties held at Number Ten during lockdown and in breach of Covid restrictions.

Back then Mr Tugendhat underlined his opposition to the Prime Minister's behaviour saying: "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."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Friday Mr Tugendhat said he hopes to emulate David Cameron by winning the Conservative Party leadership against more experienced contenders, describing himself as ‘unsullied by the events of the past’.

He said: "I have served before – in the military, and now in parliament.

"Now I hope to answer the call once again as Prime Minister. It’s time for a clean start. It’s time for renewal."

He set out his One Nation stall before saying he would "immediately reverse the recent National Insurance hike" and reduce fuel duty, accusing Rishi Sunak of leaving office with taxes too high.

The son of a High Court judge and nephew of Baron Tugendhat, a Tory peer, the Cambridge-educated MP was first elected in 2015.

He rose through the military ranks having served in Iraq as well as Afghanistan and acted as an assistant to the chief of the defence staff.

The married father-of-two holds dual British and French citizenship.

In recent months he has become one of the most prominent opponents of the Prime Minister over both the partygate crisis and the Chris Pincher saga, which finally prompted Mr Johnson's demise.

Critics point to Mr Tugendhat's lack of ministerial experience as a disadvantage in his pitch for the top job.

However, there is also a school of thought that Boris Johnson has become so unpopular that anyone who served in his Cabinet during the scandals and played a prominent role in defending him may well be too tainted to be a credible successor.

Mr Tugendhat's allies say his support for the Union is without question, though there is some nervousness among supporters about his Remainer background and whether he will be able to win over sufficient support in a party whose members strongly support Brexit.

"I don't think it should be," Mr Kerr told the Herald on Sunday.

"Tom has been very clear we have got to look forward and we have got to make all of this work and also have a positive relationship with our friends and neighbours in the European Union."

Mr Tugendhat already has the backing of Damian Green, a former Theresa May loyalist who is associated with the left of the Tory party.

The 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers will elect a new executive of 18 MPs tomorrow, who will then decide the timetable for the leadership election.

It is likely that the first stage of the process, in which MPs vote the slate of candidates down to two, should be completed by July 21 when the Commons goes on recess.

Ballot papers would then be sent to the 100,000 party members across the UK to choose between the two remaining candidates, ideally in time for the return of parliament on September 5.

Mr Kerr said: "I very much hope Tom gets down to the final two candidates in the MPs ballot. I think he would be a fantastic leader of the Conservatives, a statesmanlike Prime Minister, a Prime Minister we can be proud of."

Attorney general Suella Braverman launched her leadership bid in bizarre circumstances announcing on television on Wednesday evening her intention to stand while calling on Mr Johnson to resign – and while refusing to quit her cabinet position.

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and ex-minister Kemi Badenoch have also launched their bids with further announcements anticipated over the coming days.

Front-runners include trade minister Penny Mordaunt, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, and former health secretaries Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace yesterday ruled out running in the contest.

Ms Mordaunt is another candidate favoured among Scottish Tories. She received the backing of John Lamont MP on Friday who described her as an “effective communicator” on Times Radio and “strong on the Union”.

He said the “ability to communicate a Conservative message across all parts of the United Kingdom” would be key for the next Prime Minister.

“There’s a number of strong candidates but the person who continually has impressed me during my time as an MP and prior to that as an MSP is Penny Mordaunt and I believe she is a very effective communicator, very strong on the Union,” said Mr Lamont, who ran Jeremy Hunt’s leadership campaign in 2019.

David Mundell, the former Scottish secretary, said: “What we need, I think, is somebody who could unify the party, unify the country, frankly just be a little bit duller than the current incumbent and just really focus on getting the job done.”

Michael Gove and Dominic Raab have both ruled out a run at the leadership.

Tory MP Mark Francois has said he believes at least 12 people will put their names forward.

He told GB News: "I haven't yet decided who I am going to vote for."It looks like this is going to be the Grand National but without the fences, so we are probably heading for at least a dozen candidates at the moment."

Former minister Steve Baker has thrown his support behind Ms Braverman's bid, despite previously saying he was seriously considering putting himself forward for the top job.

Those publicly backing Mr Sunak include Commons Leader Mark Spencer, former Tory Party co-chairman Oliver Dowden, former chief whip Mark Harper, ex-ministers Liam Fox and Andrew Murrison, and MPs Sir Bob Neill, Paul Maynard and Louie French.Other potential contenders have also received endorsements from Tory ranks, despite not yet launching a bid of their own.