Rishi Sunak faced accusations he “stabbed Boris Johnson in the back” as he addressed grassroots Conservatives in the first member hustings in the race to replace the prime minister.
There was applause from the crowd of more than 1,000 Tories at the suggestion Mr Johnson should be on the ballot paper alongside his former chancellor and his rival Liz Truss.
But Mr Sunak denied he had betrayed the PM while being grilled at the event in Leeds. Rather, he said he resigned because of differences in economic policy.
