Politics

Tory leadership race collapses into lurid smears with candidate accused of drug problems & ‘spy’ infiltrating rival camp


THE Tory leadership race has been tainted by lurid smears, including that one of the original six candidates had a drug problem.

Campaign insiders from multiple leadership teams have told The Sun that in September the contest turned so nasty, some candidates could not even trust their own staff.

Kemi Badenoch received the most votes in the last ballot

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Kemi Badenoch received the most votes in the last ballotCredit: Elliott Franks
Robert Jenrick has also made it to the final round

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Robert Jenrick has also made it to the final roundCredit: 2024 © Elliott Franks

One senior aide who worked on a bid alleges their team was infiltrated by a “spy”.

They said: “We had someone join who we eventually discovered was secretly working for another candidate.

“He deliberately sabotaged events and made our campaign look incompetent.

“We found out eventually and kicked him off.”

An insider who worked on a different campaign said their candidate was falsely accused of having a “drug problem”.

They said: “During the leadership race people became, metaphorically, violent.

“Some aides ran around parliament warning MPs that our candidate had a drug problem which is obviously a complete lie.”

The long drawn out race will finally come to a head on November 2, after party members vote to crown either Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick.

Both wannabe leaders will first face a head-to-head debate on GB News.

Tory leadership results – fourth round

THE fourth round results:

Kemi Badenoch: 42

Robert Jenrick: 41

James Cleverly: 37

How the contest works:

September 4: First round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate

September 10: Second round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate

September 29 – October 2: Final four candidates make their pitches at Conservative party conference in Birmingham

October 8: Third round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate

October 9: Fourth round of Tory MP voting to eliminate one candidate. The final two go to a vote of the wider party membership.

November 2: New Tory leader announced

Bob Blackman, chairman of the 1922 Committee, announces the results of the fourth round

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Bob Blackman, chairman of the 1922 Committee, announces the results of the fourth roundCredit: PA



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