Tory leadership debate live: Tom Tugendhat says Boris Johnson is not honest as candidates go head-to-head

The candidates are now being asked why they are best placed to stand up to Putin and help Ukraine’s war effort.

Mordaunt says:

We have to be honest with the British people about how hard this is at it goes on … Putin has to fail, he cannot gain any territory, he cannot be emboldened in his ambitions at all. There can be no compromise on that.

She adds that she has the expertise and that she is able to spot the opportunity in situations, referencing the fall of Afghanistan as a “missed opportunity” by the UK to maintain a presence.

Badenoch says:

I, more than anyone, understand how important it is the UK is a positive force in the world and is seen to be a positive force in the world.

It is critically important that countries around the world know we are there protect those who cannot protect themselves.

She adds that she is committed to Nato and that a Ukraine loss in its war with Russia would be “terrible for years to come”.

Tugendhat says he has “stood and fought” for Britain for many years and jokes about mentioning his time in the army. He adds:

I was in Ukraine earlier this year and have met with many Ukrainian officials and military officers over the past 12 months … I know what we can do, what we must do. We must force Putin to realise he is going to lose, though it is not for us to define what victory means for the Ukrainians.

He goes on to heap praise on the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and says he would increase support to Ukraine and Nato, making sure it is a stronger position by supporting allies such as Latvia and Estonia, and spending more on defence.

Sunak starts by saying the UK is “an enormous force for good in the world” and that he takes defence spending “incredibly seriously”. He says he made an exception to ensure the MoD received funding certainty, unlike any other department, during the pandemic.

He says:

In terms of standing up to Putin, we have to put in place very serious sanctions.

Looking forward, defence spending is forecast to rise to 2.5%. I don’t take an approach that relies on arbitrary figures.

Truss says:

We have led the free world in standing up to Putin and supporting Ukraine in their hour of need. We used our intelligence to expose what [Putin’s] plans were.

Now, we need to do more. We need to send more weapons to Ukraine, we need to send more heavy weapons, we need to encourage our international allies to do more.

She goes on to say “we need to put more sanctions on Ukraine” – presumably she means Russia, in this case. Truss finishes by saying her view is we need to be spending 3% of GDP on defence by the end of the decade, warning that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, “he will not stop there”.