The five remaining Tory leadership candidates faced-off in the first TV debate of the contest
Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat answered questions from an audience of "floating voters"
Truss defended her plans for tax cuts - but Sunak said it's a "fairy tale" to "borrow our way out of inflation"
Tugendhat said he was the only candidate not to vote for the recent national insurance rise
Truss, Badenoch, and Mordaunt also faced questions on gender self-identification
Tory MPs will have votes next week to whittle the candidates down to two - party members will decide the winner
We're now closing our politics live news coverage.
The writers today were Victoria Lindrea, Malu Cursino, Aoife Walsh, Emma Owen, Jo Couzens and Adam Durbin.
The page was edited by Nathan Williams, Ben Tobias and Alex Therrien.
We'll soon be bringing our live page to a close. But before we do, here's a quick round-up of the main developments today.
Here's a selection of the best quotes from each candidate during the televised debate earlier.
Quote MessageWe are all responsible for our own campaigns and I take it as a big fat compliment that no-one wants to run against me."
Penny Mordaunt on suggestions some of her rivals are trying to undermine her campaign
Quote MessageI'm running an entirely positive campaign which is about the great challenges we face and what we need to do to deliver for the people of Britain because we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, families are struggling."
Liz Truss denies her campaign team has been attacking Mordaunt
Quote MessageEnergy is a subject that worries me a lot. I grew up in Nigeria where there were blackouts every single day, there still are. I know what it's like not to be able to turn on the light, so it terrifies me seeing how high bills are going."
Kemi Badenoch draws on her experience growing up when talking about addressing soaring energy bills
Quote MessageIt's easy to stand up to your enemies - it's sometimes harder to stand up to your friends."
Tom Tugendhat on the ministers who remained in Boris Johnson's government despite the controversies
Quote MessageBorrowing your way out of inflation isn't a plan, it's a fairytale."
Rishi Sunak hits out at Truss's spending plans
Image source, PA MediaEarlier this evening, the first TV debate in the Conservative leadership contest saw the five remaining candidates grilled by the public and host Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Here's a summary of some of the key moments from the exchanges tonight:
Trust
Candidates were first asked a series of questions about whether they should be trusted and how they can restore trust in voters following the controversies of Boris Johnson's government.
Most cited their own record in government and public life as evidence of their trustworthiness.
Asked directly if Johnson is honest, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss did not give a yes or no answer, but acknowledged mistakes had been made.
In more concise answers, Kemi Badenoch said “sometimes", while Tom Tugendhat said "no" - to a round of applause from the audience.
Gender self-identification for trans people
Mordaunt was quizzed on her stance on trans issues and insisted she had never been in favour of self-identification, where a person could legally change their gender without, for example, a medical diagnosis.
She also sought to draw a distinction between biological and trans women, saying transwomen could change gender legally "but that does not mean they are identical to me".
Tax and economy
Sunak portrayed himself as an economic realist who was willing to take the tough decisions that were needed. Truss said she would reverse increases in National Insurance and look to introduce low-tax zones across the country.
Tugendhat said companies were more interested in investments than corporation tax cuts - a proposal mooted by other candidates.
Mordaunt said she said she'd halve VAT on fuel at the pump and had a plan for limited, timely, targeted support.
Energy
Badenoch and Truss both said they would remove green levies and Truss also said more nuclear fuel was needed to counter costs.
Tugendhat also said nuclear was the way forward, along with better investment in home insulation.
Sunak agreed, saying the long-term solution was improving insulation in people's homes and getting people the support to pay for that.
Mordaunt said energy companies were not passing savings on to consumers and the standing charge on energy needed to be looked at.
NHS
Asked about how to deal with backlogs and health service funding issues, Sunak said he’d already delivered on improving funding for the NHS, despite the National Insurance hike coming at a great political cost to him personally.
Badenoch said the backlog was “terrifying” and explained she’d been unable to get a dental appointment for seven months to look at a chipped tooth.
Mordaunt said innovation was critical to reducing the backlog and argued there were many levers the government can do to lower waiting lists
Truss said the government needed to work on improving rural services and expanding access to GPs to reduce the pressure on hospitals.
Tugendhat said improving leadership in government and the health services was key to drive improvement in the NHS
Green economy
Truss said she was committed to the 2050 net zero target as did Sunak, who added that his daughters ask him what he'll do to fight climate change.
Mordaunt also said it was important to hit targets, but the government needed to be realistic about what it would take to get there.
But Kemi Badenoch said while the UK needed to meet targets for climate change, this should be done in a sustainable way that didn't damage the economy.
Tugendhat called for a global energy resilience plan.
Tom Tugendhat was the winner of tonight's debate, according to a snap poll, external from political research firm Opinium.
More than one third of 1,000 voters asked to watch the debate said the backbench MP performed best, with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak in second.
The full results are:
Nick Eardley
Political correspondent
Remember what tonight is all about.
It's a chance for candidates to speak to the public for the first time in a TV debate. But crucially, they want to finish in the last two next week when Tory MPs vote, so they then go into the vote of Tory members.
Liz Truss will be happy she got into a meaty discussion with Rishi Sunak on the economy. They disagree on how quickly tax cuts can be brought in - and on whether it was right to put up National Insurance to fund the NHS.
Truss's team wants her to be seen as the genuine alternative to Sunak - and there are clear ideological differences on the economy for Tory MPs to mull over.
The other big clash tonight was on self-identification for trans people.
Penny Mordaunt has faced questions over her stance. She set it out tonight; that legal changes to a person's identity can happen, but biological differences will remain. She said she opposed changes when it comes to sport and trans athletes.
But Kemi Badenoch did not hold back, questioning Mordaunt's account of her position when she was minister for women and equalities.
These debates can sometimes be a bit dull, with politicians simply setting out what we already knew. Tonight was not; there are splits in the Conservative Party and this race is getting heated.
Delivering her closing comments, Penny Mordaunt said the contest needed to be about the general public.
Credit: Britain’s Next PM: The C4 Debate/ITN Productions
Returning to Liz Truss's closing remarks, she said the country faced grave challenges - an economic crisis, a war in Ukraine and decades of slow growth.
She said she should be the next leader of the Tory party - and PM - because of her track record delivering policies across different departments.
Now is not the time for the continuity of our current economic policy, Truss insisted.
"We need to cut taxes. We need to be bold."
She concluded by saying she could go into No 10 and on day one "get the job done" before she was cut off.
And with that, the first leadership debate has ended.
But stick with us for a while longer while we bring you reaction to the debate.
Sunak says there is much agreement among the candidates, in that they all want to cut taxes, secure the borders and improve public services.
He says addressing the crisis is about "who can grip this moment and get things done", adding that nothing that is worthwhile comes easy.
Sunak adds the fundamental choice is over whether candidates confront challenges "honestly and responsibly, or not", adding for him "there is only one answer".
Tom Tugendhat also thanks people for watching the debate. This is about you, your country and your PM, he says.
The country is going through a crisis, he says, and we're seeing division and disunity around the world but we can turn this around.
People tonight have been asking the right questions and we need a clean start, he says.
"I have a track record of leadership. I have led on operations and I have led in Parliament and now I would like to lead the United Kingdom," he finishes.
Penny Mordaunt says the leadership contest must be about the public, their lives and their worries.
Mordaunt thanks viewers for watching the debate, saying she appreciates that the Conservative Party's decision to elect a new leader will have a direct impact on the audience's lives.
She says she is not the traditional offer, not the legacy candidate.
Mordaunt adds that she wants the UK to shine through and "be all it can be".
The candidates are now setting out their closing remarks.
Kemi Badenoch says it's time to tell the truth, otherwise "we fail".
She says she loves this country and nothing would be more of an honour than being chosen to lead it.
Badenoch adds she will fight as hard for other people's children as she would her own.
We will do this with better government, she concludes, because the "machine is not working" at the moment.
Tom Tugendhat says he wants an energy resilience plan for the whole world.
He says it doesn't just work if we worry about the UK - the atmosphere doesn't care about that, it's all around the world.
Image source, Britain's Next PM: The C4 Debate/ITN ProductionsRishi Sunak says he's also committed to the pledge for net zero by 2050.
He says his daughters don't care about his day job, other than asking what he's going to do to fight climate change, which means a lot to him.
Sunak says we need to make sure we bring people with us, rather than going too hard or too fast on reducing emissions.
Kemi Badenoch says the UK needs to meet targets for climate change in a sustainable way.
She says emissions have already been reduced and we don't want to do further damage to our economy.
We need to make decisions that don't harm everyday people, she says.
Truss says she's committed to fighting climate change and better protecting wildlife and biodiversity in the UK.
She says she would launch a new survey of wildlife to understand which species are endangered, if she becomes PM.
Asked if she's committed to the pledge for net-zero emissions by 2050, she says she is.
Image source, Britain's Next PM: The C4 Debate/ITN ProductionsIn the final question, the five candidates are asked about how they would go about creating a green economy.
Tom Tugendhat says when his friends were injured in Afghanistan, they were cared for by the NHS and he thanks the service for that and says he'll always be grateful.
He says he wants to drive leadership and efficiency into the NHS. These have been very difficult years during the Covid pandemic, he says, and he pays tribute to those who work in the NHS.
Liz Truss says the government needs to work "as hard as we can" to reduce the backlog and expresses a particular need to support people in rural areas.
She adds that GP services need to be more accessible in order to reduce the pressures on hospital services.