Andrew Boff: Ejected Tory sure Braverman will not lead party

Mr Boff (centre) was bundled out of the Tory party conference

The Conservative London Assembly chairman Andrew Boff has said he is sure Home Secretary Suella Braverman will not become the next party leader.

Mr Boff, who was escorted out of Ms Braverman's Tory party annual conference speech for heckling on Tuesday, said he believed in the "ultimate common sense of the party".

He also said he had been "overwhelmed" with messages of support.

He called for focus on "important things" rather than "divisive" topics.

Mr Boff was ejected from Ms Braverman's speech after objecting to her comments on transgender issues.

During the speech, Mr Boff was heard saying: "There's no such thing as gender ideology."

He was quickly approached by officials and police officers and then removed from the conference venue.

'Culture war'

Speaking on Wednesday, he says he "very much hopes that Suella Braverman learns about the power of her words and moderates her tone.

"I've had so many contacts over the past few hours from people who are concerned, as I am, that we are using this culture war battleground to no good effect at all, and we're actually hurting people," Mr Boff said.

"And we shouldn't be doing that as Conservatives. That's not the Conservative Party I joined and I think we're better than that."

He says he believes his party is on track for a "victory next year".

Mr Boff sits as the chair of the London Assembly and has been a London-wide member since 2008.

Ms Braverman later said Mr Boff's comments during her speech were "silly" but added that he should be "forgiven and let back into conference".

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