Image source, PA Media

More now on who has secured the backing of other MPs in the race to be Tory leader.

MP Aaron Bell, who criticised Boris Johnson in Parliament over lockdown parties, says he is backing Tom Tugendhat for leader.

In February Mr Bell submitted a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson, comparing the restrictions on his grandmother's funeral in May 2020 with some of the revelations from the Sue Gray report into the Downing Street parties during lockdown.

"What I think the country needs, and what this party needs, is a clean start," he says. "It has been very damaging in the last eight months or so.

"Tom, obviously, isn't associated with that. He's got character, leadership, integrity in spades."

He says Tugendhat showed those qualities in the military, Parliament and while serving his Tonbridge and Malling constituents.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

And they're off. The Tory leadership race feels like it really got under way this morning, with candidates starting to make their official pitches. In fact, there were three launches within a few hundred metres of each other.

Rishi Sunak is the frontrunner among Tory MPs so far. The man to beat.

His pitch was honesty and responsibility when it comes to economic pledges. He is promising tax cuts - like other candidates. But he says that can only happen once inflation is under control and the economy growing.

It was striking that Sunak paid tribute to Boris Johnson too. The PM is still popular with parts of his party - and Sunak does not want to alienate them.

Just up the road, Tom Tugendhat was making his pitch for a clean start. He is promising to cut fuel duty and to reverse the rise in national insurance.

Kemi Badenoch meanwhile said she would not promise tax cuts without limits on government spending.

Although she hasn’t launched yet, Liz Truss is making the argument to MPs that she is the best person to take on Sunak in the final vote of the Conservative membership. The backing of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries is likely to win her favour among the Tory right. So far, it has been split between a few candidates. Truss’s team are trying to make the case for her being the unifying candidates for low-tax Tories.

One candidate has dropped out this morning - the transport secretary Grant Shapps, who is now backing Sunak.

Most of the other camps are confident of getting to the 20-supporters threshold by the deadline this evening. The exception is Rehman Chishti - who seems likely to drop out later.

A bit more from the home secretary now, who has just said she won't be running in the leadership race.

As a lifelong Conservative, she says she will always "make the case for freedom, enterprise and opportunity".

Patel doesn't say who will get her backing, instead saying she will be "listening to cases being put forward by the candidates".

And she says she trusts "the contest will be conducted in a good spirit that brings our party together".

Image source, UK Parliament

We've just heard Home Secretary Priti Patel has decided not to stand in the Conservative leadership race.

She says she's "grateful" for the support of her colleagues but has decided not to put her name forward. She does not yet say who she is backing instead.

Kevin Peachey
Personal finance correspondent

Away from - but owing to - the leadership race, the business of government is in somewhat of a state of paralysis.

That could be a problem now the chief executive of the energy regulator Ofgem has said domestic gas and electricity bills will be higher in October than he previously forecast.

Jonathan Brearley’s initial estimate of an £800-a-year rise in a typical bill was the template when ministers decided how much to give in direct financial assistance to households.

Now analysts expect a £1,200 increase, will the support package be considered sufficient?

Who will make a decision on whether more support will be offered or not, and when?

We've heard campaign speeches from Tory leadership hopefuls Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat today.

Here's a recap:

Rishi Sunak

Image source, Reuters

• Sunak pledged to grow the economy by first tackling inflation and later lowering taxes
• He paid tribute to Boris Johnson, saying he is one of the most remarkable people he has ever met
• He was endorsed by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab

Tom Tugendhat

Image source, PA Media

• Tugendhat pushed for a "clean start" for the Tories

• He set out plans to introduce a binding target for A&E times and says he will hold NHS leaders to account
• He said he'd cut fuel duty by 10p and reverse the National Insurance rise

Kemi Badenoch

• Badenoch, a former junior education minister, said she would not make promises she could not deliver on
• The UK has had a "poor decade" for living standards, and the economy is "overburdened", she said
• She asked why the government was spending millions on jobs in the civil service that didn't exist decades ago

• She said she was committed to reducing corporate and personal taxes, but would not enter a tax "bidding war"

Chris Mason
Political editor

This survey by Conservative Home, external is interesting, because what you've got here is the two electorates in this race - Conservative MPs on the one hand and Conservative membership on the other - weighing up between themselves what the other might like.

Rishi Sunak is, at the moment, streets ahead as far as publicly declared MPs' nominations are concerned - but he's in third, and quite a distant third, behind Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch in this poll of ConservativeHome members.

Image source, .

The challenge for a party trying to renew itself in government - when it has been in government for 12 years - is being able to show that it can transform itself. And that's the argument we're hearing from the candidates who've got a bit of distance.

Certainly when you speak to Team Sunak, they think some of the heat that they've been getting in the last 24 to 48 hours is on tax - but some of it is also the pain of those who were loyal to Boris Johnson, blaming Sunak for running away from the ship.

So you're seeing those tensions of the Conservatives' record in government, versus how it goes about renewing in office, playing out in these early skirmishes.

David Brown
Visual Journalism Team

Betting odds on the candidates have changed sharply in the past 24 hours:

Image source, .

As you can see, trade minister Penny Mordaunt is now joint favourite with former chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Sunak has led the betting since last Thursday, but has dipped slightly since Saturday - while Mordaunt's odds have risen sharply since last Friday.

Former Cabinet minister David Davis has publicly backed Penny Mordaunt for leader, saying "we can't afford any more scandal".

The former Brexit Secretary tells Sky News a new leader needs integrity, competence and a vision for Britain.

Mordaunt is popular in Scotland and with younger voters, and is the most likely to beat Rishi Sunak, he says.

Davis, who has himself run for leader in the past, says it's "unwise" for people to keep firing propaganda back and forth, "particularly when integrity and ethics is central to what the public think about all of this".

And he warns if the next leader can't "turn the country around" before the next election, the Conservatives will be out of power.

Kemi Badenoch says she wants to be honest about the scale of the economic challenge ahead.

She says that beyond the issue of inflation, the UK has had a "poor decade for living standards".

The former equalities minister also says she would be a prime minister that tells the truth, as the "truth will set us free".

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from Tugendhat's campaign launch

Tom Tugendhat sought to distance himself from the "scandal" and "petty politics" of the Boris Johnson era, promising a "clean start", as he officially launched his bid to be Tory leader and prime minister.

He dialled down his military back story - which featured so heavily in his campaign video - and aimed to present himself as a candidate with a fully worked-out plan for government.

In a policy-heavy speech, he spoke about his 10-year plan for the economy, promised to cut 10p from fuel duty and reverse National Insurance rises.

But, reaching for a military metaphor, he said: “Tax cuts cannot be the only round in the magazine.” He promised deregulation to make the most of Brexit, and an “Oxbridge of the North” for vocational training, in a nod to Red Wall Tory Jake Berry, who was sat on the front row.

He also made a point of saying the two candidates who make it though to the final stage of the leadership contest must be ready to go the distance.

In 2016, Andrea Leadsom pulled out of the race, allowing Theresa May to be elected unopposed.

At his launch, Tom Tugendhat says "we must return to service - we need leadership with a renewed sense of mission".

Rishi Sunak's resignation may have triggered Boris Johnson's downfall, but the former chancellor still had a few nice words for his former boss while he launched his bid to succeed him:

At her launch, Badenoch asks why - when the government can't deliver passports and driving licences on time - is it spending millions on jobs in the civil service that didn't exist decades ago?

"What about the wellbeing of the actual public who can't go on holiday because we can't process a piece of paper on time?" she says.

Badenoch finishes her speech by saying: "People who want a fresh face can't have someone who has been in cabinet for a very long time."

Matt Cole
Reporting from Badenoch's campaign launch

This is another campaign wrapped in the union flag. Not only adorning the banners behind Kemi Badenoch's podium but even the “i” in her name on those posters was dotted with one.

A packed room heard the 42-year-old dismiss concerns about her age and promise not to join other candidates in a bidding war on tax cuts.

This is a campaign about truth, she said, claiming for too long politicians have been telling voters they can have their cake and eat it.

The big pitch though, was for a small (but strong) state - with limited government, and support for free markets.

Badenoch said the right had lost its courage and confidence, and said she’d back the people's priorities, not those championed on Twitter.

She also lived up to her reputation for engaging in the so-called culture war, claiming for too long her party had “caved in to every campaign with a moving message".

To underline her point, there were no gender neutral toilets allowed at this launch - masking tape signs were stuck on the loos turning generic facilities into those for “men” and “ladies”.

At her launch, Kemi Badenoch outlines more of her plan to deliver lower taxes:

• Reduce the amount spent on international aid - while still remaining a force for good in the world
• Ensure an efficient civil service - but getting rid of diversity and equality officers is not going to move the dial
• Create proper accountability around the £100bn grant which government currently dispenses

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Sunak's launch

Another set of promises.

And endorsements.

Having taken a fair bit of incoming brickbats from pretty much everyone else in the race, the Sunak campaign was proud to unveil two big hitters — the deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and the transport secretary Grant Shapps.

They are confident they are being responsible and grown up as they see it, the others the opposite — both in their promises and their tone.

Note Mr Sunak’s repeated pleas for the party to remember they are all Conservatives.

"We’ve all heard of fantasy football. Now we are getting fantasy economics!" said one long standing Tory MP to me who’s backing Rishi Sunak.

Image source, PA Media

At Sunak's campaign launch, the Sun's political editor Harry Cole manages to squeeze in another question.

He says Boris Johnson's former chief aide Dominic Cummings has been "openly campaigning for you to be prime minister for a year, are you grateful for his support?"

Sunak is unequivocal in his response, saying Cummings has had "absolutely nothing" to do with his campaign, and will have "absolutely nothing to do with any government that I'm privileged to lead".

He adds that he hasn't communicated with Cummings since the day he left Downing Street.

And that's it for Sunak's launch. He leaves the stage to cheers and applause.

Image source, PA Media

More now from Tom Tugendhat's campaign speech in central London.

The Tonbridge and Malling MP says he plans to introduce an energy resilience plan to "ensure the UK has dependable power produced at home, or sourced from trusted allies".

"This means more clean energy and more nuclear energy," he says.

Tugendhat also says he will bring in a "binding A&E times target" - adding that he will "hold NHS leaders accountable".

As he concludes his speech, the former Army officer says delivery and competency matters most to him.

"This great country of ours is at a crossroads. We are faced with daunting challenges at home and abroad.

"We need serious leadership, we need to tackle the cost of living crisis.

"We need bold leadership and I am ready to serve. I am ready to lead - we need a clean start."

Brian Wheeler
Reporting from Tugendhat's campaign launch

Image source, PA Media

This a policy heavy speech from Tom Tugendhat.

He has proposed an "Oxbridge of the North" for vocational training, vows binding A&E waiting targets and an "energy resilience plan".

He also says that Conservative members must get a vote once it gets down to the last two candidates.

"There is no way that anyone who makes it to the last two should either offer or accept a compromise that goes behind the backs of Conservative Party members."