We're now wrapping up our coverage of today's Conservative leadership hustings in Northern Ireland.

As a reminder, here are some of the points the two candidates touched upon:

• Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pledged to fix the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol - the post-Brexit deal aimed at preventing a hard border in Ireland - and support the government's bill to override parts of the arrangement
• Truss described Northern Ireland as a "key part of our fantastic union"
• She also said that all UK laws needed to apply across the whole of the UK when asked about abortion legislation in Northern Ireland
• Sunak said tax cuts wouldn't help the most vulnerable people through the cost of living crisis
• The former chancellor also said he wouldn't pursue policies that could make inflation worse, like, he said, the extra borrowing suggested by Truss. He also said it would be a "moral failure" if they did not help the most vulnerable

We'll continue to cover the Truss-Sunak race for the party leadership. The latest polls suggest Liz Truss has a large lead over Sunak. There's more on on the next PM's challenges in Northern Ireland here, and a guide to the candidates' policies here.

The next hustings are in Manchester on 19 August.

The team behind the live page was made up of Alex Therrien, Heather Sharp, Laura Gozzi, Dulcie Lee, James FitzGerald, Chas Geiger, Luke Sproule, Chris Andrews, Mike Hirst, as well as Jayne McCormack and Grainne Connolly in Belfast and political correspondent David Cornock.

Earlier, Sinn Féin said it was "totally insulting" for the Conservative leadership candidates to "rock up" in Northern Ireland for today's debate.

The republican party won the most seats in the recent Northern Ireland Assembly election.

John Finucane, the MP for North Belfast, said the Conservatives had no regard for people in Northern Ireland and were "propping up the DUP [Democratic Unionist Party]'s block on an Executive being formed".

Grainne Connolly
Reporting from the event

During the questions at the hustings, George Platt asked Liz Truss whether she would overturn laws legalising abortion in Northern Ireland.

She replied to say she wanted abortion laws to be the same across the UK.

When asked how he felt about her response, Mr Platt said: “Abortion is on the minds and hearts of many people in Northern Ireland and it’s a really complex issue but I feel if you’re standing to be a leader, to represent the country, you need to know where you stand on this. Is it right or wrong?"

He adds: “I felt Liz sort of dodged the question and is the more conservative of the two - so maybe she dodged it and felt I’d give her the vote anyway.”

He says he is still undecided on who he will vote for, but is leaning more towards Truss.

Grainne Connolly
Reporting from the event

Jayne Doherty says Rishi Sunak may have won her over with his answers today.

"I really came in 90% sure I was going to vote for Liz Truss," she says. "But when I did hear the answers to questions and policies I was so impressed with Rishi Sunak today."

"I can see him actually putting that into place, so I was swayed today but I still don’t know how I’m going to vote," she adds.

But she said she didn't think either of the leadership rivals really answered questions about getting Stormont back up and running.

"It’s a bit naive of them to think fixing the protocol will resolve it all,” she says.

Lenn Jarvis has already cast his vote, for Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

"I think Liz was better in detail and had more detail," he says.

"Rishi, with him when he was chancellor, he was splashing the cash and talking about low taxation," he adds.

"Now that’s contradictory, how much his arm was twisted by Boris, I don’t know. But to me there’s a credibility problem there which will take a few years to re-establish. So I’m happy with my decision."

Image source, PA Media

In the hustings a short time ago, Sunak repeated his recent line of attack that Truss is risking a "moral failure" if she doesn't support the country's most vulnerable people during the cost-of-living crisis.

At the event near Belfast, Sunak said Truss's plan for tax would not help low-income groups and argued he had the better plan with an offer of direct financial support.

After Sunak used the same "moral failure" line at Tuesday night's hustings in Scotland, a Truss campaign source told The Times: “It’s a shame that Sunak has had to stoop this low to get a headline.”

The former chancellor was accused of being an "attention seeker".

The latest inflation figure of 10.1% shows "how serious the situation is", Rishi Sunak says, speaking to journalists after the hustings near Belfast.

"Inflation is the enemy," he adds, describing rising prices as the biggest challenge facing the next prime minister.

The former chancellor says it is important not to "put fuel on the fire of inflation" with the tax cuts proposed by his leadership rival Liz Truss.

He says he would target support to those on the lowest incomes and pensioners.

Need a recap? Here are the key points from the eighth of 12 hustings events in the leadership contest. It took place near Belfast, with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak both setting out their stalls before taking questions from Conservative Party members.

Image source, PA Media

Liz Truss:

• Truss described Northern Ireland as a "key part of our fantastic Union", saying she was determined to "sort" the Northern Ireland Protocol issue and get power-sharing at Stormont back up and running
• On the Protocol, she emphasised the need to make sure UK courts were the "ultimate arbiter" and that trade with Great Britain was "free-flowing"
• Truss said Boris Johnson was an "excellent" leader who had delivered on Brexit and the Covid vaccine, after a questioner suggested he had "continually lied" to the country
• Truss said, to applause, that all UK laws needed to apply across the whole of the UK when asked about abortion in Northern Ireland

Image source, PA Media

Rishi Sunak

• Rishi Sunak focused initially on inflation, saying he wouldn't pursue policies that made it worse, like - he said - the extra borrowing suggested by Truss and said it would be a "moral failure" if they did not help the most vulnerable
• He said tax cuts wouldn't help the most vulnerable people through the cost of living crisis

• Sunak said he was an honest candidate who told the country what it needed to hear, even if that wasn't what it always wanted to hear

• Like Truss, he pledged to “doing what it takes to fix" the Northern Ireland Protocol, while praising former Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble, who died last month

Liz Truss has been speaking to journalists after the hustings, after the announcement this morning that UK inflation has reached 10.1% - the first time it's hit double digits since 1982.

She says she will not "predict a future budget" as the economic situation is fast-moving.

She repeats her pledge to reduce taxes which is "vitally important to avoid a recession".

The Conservative candidate says she wants to remove the green levy "to help people with their energy bills" and to keep corporation tax low.

"We're currently facing a recession, I think that would be extremely damaging and that's why I don't believe in putting up taxes, I think that would cut off growth," she says.

David Cornock
Political correspondent

Rishi Sunak bounced on to the stage with a cheery greeting to “my fellow Britons”.

Like Liz Truss, his pitch had a familiar air to it – is there anyone left in the UK who doesn’t know his mum was a chemist?

Like his rival, he promised to “fix” the Northern Ireland Protocol and protect Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.

He suggested there was little between him and the foreign secretary on that – though he acknowledged that legislation would take time and said he would try to negotiate a settlement with the EU in the meantime.

Unlike Liz Truss, he did go out of his way to attack his opponent’s policies – particularly on borrowing and tax cuts.

As the self-styled underdog in this race, that more aggressive approach may be understandable.

No knockout blows landedpublished at 14:21 British Summer Time 17 August 2022

14:21 BST 17 August 2022

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent

This was round eight of the biggest rumble in UK politics right now, but neither camp took or landed any big blows.

Both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak delivered polished performances, carefully sidestepping the risks that come with being grilled on local issues.

While the hour-long event focused largely on their commitments to "fix" the protocol, their approaches to sorting out the economy remain starkly different.

And neither made much mention of the power-sharing impasse at Stormont in their opening speeches, instead local members were left to ask each candidate how they’d sort it out.

About 600 people in Northern Ireland get a say on who the next occupant of No 10 should be.

When asked at today’s hustings how many were still undecided, a good number of members were quick to stick up their hand.

Despite being small in number, they were keen to remind the party machine that every vote will count before a winner emerges on 5 September.

The last question is on the ongoing impasse at Stormont, which a member of the public says will prevent all the policies Sunak has mentioned from being put in place.

The Northern Ireland Assembly and executive are not currently functioning after the executive collapsed in Febraury when the Democratic Unionist Party withdrew First Minister Paul Givan in protest over the protocol.

The party is refusing to return until its concerns with the protocol have been addressed.

"All of us want to see institutions back up and running," Sunak replies.

"Next year will be 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement and for it not to be function is sad," he says.

"Moving into the future starts with fixing the protocol and talking with all parties and fixing the differences and bringing people together," Sunak adds.

He says he supports the government's the bill to override parts of the protocol, but in the interim he would talk to Europe, Ireland and the French, he says.

And with that, Sunak's time is up - and that brings the event to a close.

Grainne Connolly
Reporting from the event

Image source, PA Media

Rishi Sunak’s upbeat delivery brought a lighter tone to the room in his opening speech, with a strong emphasis on values and family.

Once again, there was a good show of hands when it came to question time with members keen to ask hard-hitting questions about issues including child labour in foreign countries, reaching net zero, the cost of living crisis and how people will make it through the winter.

But it’s clear one key issue for members is what both candidates will do to try and restore power-sharing at Stormont, with the question raised more than once.

On the topic of the environment and net zero, Sunak says that as a Conservative he cares about "inheritance in all its guises" - including the environment.

Sunak says that in order to achieve net zero "we need innovation to create the products of the future that will help provide clean, reliable, affordable and secure energy"

"We need to do that across the board in solar, nuclear and wind power," he says.

I know how to build an innovation economy, Sunak says, referring to his "business background", and adding that "taxes are only a bit of the story".

"That's how we do net zero in a positive way and spread jobs and opportunities around our country." he says to applause.

Sunak, too, faces a question on how he would “counter” China.

The Chinese Communist Party represents the “greatest threat” to economic and national security, he warns.

Sunak outlines a range of actions he took as chancellor and would continue to take as PM - including protections against “hostile investment” in British companies from Beijing.

He promises he will always stand up for democratic values and those fleeing “persecution”, for example from Hong Kong.

He promises to spend “whatever it takes” to keep the UK safe, criticising Liz Truss’s pledge to spend 3% of GDP on defence as an “arbitrary target”.

Image source, PA Media

Rishi Sunak says he wants the Conservative Party to win in every part of the United Kingdom.

The former chancellor says he is confident the party can win a fifth general election in a row, "but it's going to require us to appeal to swing voters everywhere".

"It's right that the Conservative and Unionist Party puts resources and candidates in every part of our United Kingdom," he adds to applause.

The party fielded only one candidate in May's Northern Ireland Assembly elections.

Matthew Robinson failed to be elected in North Down, while at the last UK general election it stood four MP candidates.

First up, Sunak is asked how he plans to "sort out" the NHS including its staffing issues.

Sunak reiterates one of his key campaign messages that "bold and radical" action is needed.

The former chancellor says he wants people to talk less about how much money they're putting into the health service - and more about what they're getting out of it.

He then reiterates one of his key pledges: fines for those who miss NHS appointments.

The plan would change people's behaviour and "free up an enormous amount of extra healthcare", he promises.

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

It’s taken Rishi Sunak longer to get to Northern Ireland-specific issues in his opening pitch than Liz Truss did.

He began by sticking to what he knows best - talking about the economy.

He’ll have to do more to persuade some in this audience of his credentials when it comes to talking tough with the EU.

But interestingly he makes a specific reference to the late Ulster Unionist leader Lord Trimble, a former first minister of Northern Ireland and in later years a Conservative peer, as he commits to “doing what it takes to fix the protocol”.

After Truss leaves the stage, her rival Sunak is invited to set out his stall.

He outlines his key values, including patriotism, loyalty to family and hard work.

Sunak speaks of the importance of rebuilding the economy and restoring trust in the government.

The former chancellor stresses that he's an honest candidate who tells the country what it "needs to hear", even if that's not always what it "wants to hear".

Truss highlights Northern Ireland Protocol issuepublished at 13:41 British Summer Time 17 August 2022

13:41 BST 17 August 2022

David Cornock
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Liz Truss’s opening pitch, with its focus on tax cutting and her record in government, will have been familiar to anyone who has watched previous hustings.

But there were messages targeted at her audience, particularly on "fixing" the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The questions she faced have been rather different from those at other events, with a focus on specific Northern Ireland issues.

She's been asked about her failure to mention the stalemate at Stormont. She insisted the answer lay in legislation on the protocol.

“Until we sort this issue out,” she said, “we’re not going to get Stormont back up and running." .

Although she was confident the House of Lords would respect the mandate for the Protocol Bill, the lengthy legislative process may mean we shouldn’t hold our breath for an early return of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive.