Tory hustings - live: Truss vows to take on ‘Treasury orthodoxy’ in swipe at Sunak

But Lib Dems say foreign secretary has had no physical meetings with ministerial counterparts or foreign ambassadors for over six weeks

Boris Johnson meets with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Independence Day

Liz Truss has vowed to “take on” the so-called “Treasury orthodoxy” under which money is handed to areas already heavily invested – in an apparent swipe at Rishi Sunak.

Mr Sunak and Ms Truss faced yet another grilling from Tory party members as they tried to win votes to become the next leader and prime minister.

But both candidates have faced sharp criticism.

Ms Truss was accused of abandoning her duties as foreign secretary, having been absent from nearly all of her ministerial duties since she joined the Conservative leadership race nearly seven weeks ago, according to the Lib Dems.

And scientists hit back at Mr Sunak over his suggestion it was a “mistake” to empower experts during the coronavirus pandemic, in a series of claims labelled “dangerous rubbish” by former No 10 aide Dominic Cummings.

The ex-chancellor told the Spectator magazine that he “wasn’t allowed to talk about the trade-off” of lockdowns during the early phases of the Covid crisis, which he said could have been “quicker”, and claimed to have fought against the “fear narrative” which drove public messaging.

Key Points

• Truss accused of being ‘absent from duties’ as foreign secretary during Tory leadership race
• Ex-chancellor laments ‘mistake’ of empowering scientists
• Consider raising tax to fund energy bill support, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak told

[25 August 2022 12:48 · Andy Gregory]

Sunak likened to Trump as scientists condemn 'blatant attack'

Scientists have hit back at Rishi Sunak following his criticism of top public health advisers during the Covid pandemic – comparing him to Donald Trump after he claimed it was wrong to “empower” scientists during the crisis and accused the Sage group of editing its minutes to hide dissenting opinions.

Professor Devi Sridhar – the public health expert who advised the Scottish government – warned there was no “voice of reason working to address big issues” in the Tory leadership contest and asked if it would have been better to “let the bodies pile high”, as Boris Johnson is reported to have said.

Dr Deepti Gurdasani also rejected Sunak’s claim that scientists were “empowered” during the pandemic – saying many experts were left “screaming helplessly” at the failure to act quickly enough.

[25 August 2022 12:31 · Andy Gregory]

Boris Johnson sends message to students on GSCE results day

Boris Johnson has issued the following message to students receiving their GCSE results:

[25 August 2022 12:20 · Andy Gregory]

British Gas to donate 10% of profits towards helping people with energy bills

British Gas has pledged to donate 10 per cent of its profits “for the duration of the energy crisis” to fund support for households struggling with rocketing bills.

Thousands of customers deemed most in need of help will receive an average of £750 per household in grants via the British Gas Energy Support Fund, the supplier said.

Tomorrow, regulator Ofgem is expected to confirm plans to raise its price cap by 80 per cent to £3,553 in October.

[25 August 2022 12:09 · Andy Gregory]

Former Newsnight editor praises ‘billiant’ lecture by Emily Maitlis

Channel 4 boss Ian Katz has praised Emily Maitlis’s MacTaggart Lecture as “brilliant” and said it serves as a powerful reminder that “due impartiality is the bedrock of journalism”.

The broadcaster’s chief content officer was editor of BBC current affairs show Newsnight between 2013 and 2017 alongside anchor Maitlis, who warned in her address at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday that the media has failed to adapt to a change in politics and is guilty of “normalising” populist ideas.

[25 August 2022 11:36 · Andy Gregory]

Sunak’s pandemic claims denounced as ‘desperate Trumpism’ by Scottish health secretary

Holyrood health secretary Humza Yousaf has accused Rishi Sunak of attempting to throw scientists “under the bus” with claims about the coronavirus pandemic – which he branded “such desperate Trumpism”.

The ex-chancellor has also faced criticism over his remarks from formerly senior employees in Downing Street at the outset of the pandemic, Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain.

[25 August 2022 11:17 · Andy Gregory]

Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden reports:

As the government’s Rwanda scheme stalls, new Home Office figures show the UK forcibly returned only 21 asylum seekers to “safe third countries” in the 18 months since Brexit came into effect.

Almost 16,000 asylum seekers were considered for removal because the government declared their claims “inadmissible” between 1 January 2021 and the end of June.

Statistics released by the Home Office showed that of those, only 21 people were removed from the UK, to countries including Ireland, Germany, Italy and Spain, after a key EU transfer deal in Brexit.

[25 August 2022 10:56 · Andy Gregory]

Sunak’s pandemic claims labelled ‘dangerous rubbish’ by Cummings

Rishi Sunak’s claims about the handling of the pandemic are “dangerous rubbish”, Boris Johnson’s former chief political aide Dominic Cummings has said.

The Tory leadership contender’s interview with the Spectator “reads like a man whose epicly bad campaign has melted his brain and he’s about to quit politics”, Mr Cummings said.

[25 August 2022 10:37 · Andy Gregory]

Less than half of Scots believe Nicola Sturgeon’s independence backup plan would provide mandate, poll finds

Just 39 per cent of Scottish people believe a mandate for independence would be achieved if a majority of voters support pro-independence parties at the next general election, polling by Ipsos Mori has found.

The findings deal a blow to Nicola Sturgeon, with the first minister planning to use the next election as an effective vote on independence if Holyrood is denied the legal powers to hold a referendum.

While nearly two-thirds of people said a referendum agreed by Westminster would establish a democratic mandate, just 47 per cent said that a Yes vote in a referendum to which the UK government had not agreed would definitely or probably do so, with 35 per cent saying it would not.

[25 August 2022 10:08 · Andy Gregory]

Sunak views on pandemic are ‘wrong’, says ex-No 10 official

Rishi Sunak’s views on the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic are “simply wrong”, according to Lee Cain, the ex-Downing Street communications director who left alongside top strategist Dominic Cummings at the end of 2020.

[25 August 2022 09:46 · Andy Gregory]

Schools must stay open five days a week despite energy bill struggles, says minister

Schools in England must stay open five days a week this winter despite struggles with soaring energy costs, an education minister has said.

Some school leaders are reportedly considering three-day weeks to manage the sharp rise in gas and electricity bills. But schools minister Will Quince insisted that classes should remain open, saying school leaders would be able manage within “existing budgets”.

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest has the full report: