Watch as Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat gives first major speech

Watch as Tom Tugendhat gives his first major speech of the Tory leadership campaign on Tuesday 13 August.

He will call for a national conversation about the root causes of the recent riots, arguing that Britain’s social fabric has deteriorated.

In his first major speech since declaring his bid for the Conservative leadership, the former security minister is expected to attack a “culture of denial” that moves on too quickly from acts of serious violence without addressing their underlying causes and the “identity and motives of the perpetrators”.

“Too often, over the last two decades or more, we have avoided being brutally honest, preferring instead the warmth and false comfort of denial and complacency,” Mr Tugendhat will say.

He is also expected to accuse prime minister Sir Keir Starmer of a “failure of leadership” and urge the police to use “uncompromising force” in dealing with violent disorder.

This is Mr Tugendhat’s second bid for the role of Tory leader, having stood in the contest in 2022. He was eliminated in the third round of voting by MPs.