Senior Conservatives have criticised Nadine Dorries’ claim that Boris Johnson was ousted in a “ruthless coup” – with one Tory MP labelling her comments “plain stupid”.
Warning that the prime minster’s removal had “unleashed the hounds of hell”, the culture secretary claimed that his “defenestration” had been “largely led” by Rishi Sunak, and defended recently mocking the ex-chancellor’s expensive attire given that “judgment is a huge issue” in the current leadership race.
As the contest to replace the PM continued, the remaining two candidates embarked upon tours of the nation, both unveiling plans to crack down violence against women and girls. Mr Sunak proposed a new “down-blousing” offence, while Liz Truss offered a law against misogynistic street harassment.
The ex-chancellor also said he would create a new emergency task force to hunt down grooming gangs, as well as tighten the law to ensure perpetrators remain behind bars for longer, while the foreign secretary announced that she would create a new stand-alone criminal offence for street harrassment.
