Robert Jenrick cuts Kemi Badenoch Tory poll lead as Tom Tugendhat won’t guarantee winter fuel reversal- UK politics live

A prominent businessman has named himself as the source of a £75,000 donation to Robert Jenrick amid transparency concerns over the ultimate origin of the funds.

Entrepreneur Phillip Ullmann said he gave the money to the Conservative Party leadership frontrunner through Spott Fitness, a fitness coaching app provider which he said is “part of my family’s group of businesses”.

However, Mr Ullmann’s name does not currently appear on the list of people with significant control in Spott Fitness at Companies House, leaving a question mark over his formal links to the organisation.

The UK elections watchdog has said it is “considering carefully” a letter from Labour demanding an investigation into the source of the money after Mr Jenrick received three donations of £25,000 from the business in July.

Its latest accounts show it has no employees, has never made a profit and has more than £300,000 of debts, and in January it registered a loan from Centrovalli, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Ullmann said he wanted to avoid suggestions that he is “hiding anything” and insisted he understands the importance of transparency surrounding political donations.

“I’ve been a successful businessman over the years. But in recent times I’ve become concerned about the grave challenges facing the UK and the rest of the world,” he said.

James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick will face a grilling from Conservative members on the main stage of the party conference during its penultimate day.

The two hopefuls to succeed Rishi Sunak will follow in the footsteps of rivals Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat, who were questioned by members on Monday.

The Birmingham conference, a subdued affair in which Tory members are seeking to regroup after their crippling election defeat, was overshadowed by global events as it headed into its third day.

On Monday, Ms Badenoch and her campaign team continued to grapple with the aftermath of her suggestion that statutory maternity leave pay was part of an “excessive” function of tax.

Speaking on the main conference stage, she compared her remarks with the often-repeated quote attributed to Margaret Thatcher that there is “no such thing as society”, from an interview the ex-prime minister gave to a women’s magazine about the importance of family.

Read the full report from my colleague Archie Mitchell below:

Robert Jenrick insisted his “values haven’t changed” when asked why he voted to remain in the EU in the Brexit referendum but later backed leaving the bloc.

The Tory leadership frontrunner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I got behind the democratic decision of the people of this country.”

He added that he had realised while serving as a minister in the Home Office that “we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe”.

“My values haven’t changed, but it’s certainly true that over time the things I have seen in the ministerial jobs that I have done have led me to conclusions that the British state isn’t working in the interests of the British people, and in particular my time at the Home Office where I saw that we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe, which to my mind is the most basic duty of our country,” Mr Jenrick said.

Tom Tugendhat said there was a “very clear argument” that defence spending should be increased towards 3%.

The Tory leadership candidate told LBC: “There’s a very, very clear argument that in order protect ourselves to make sure we’re ready for whatever the world throws at us, we need to be increasing defence spending to 3% and investing in technology.”

He added: “Frankly, it’s an insurance premium that if we don’t pay, the alternative is more expensive.”

Tom Tugendhat has declined to commit to reverse Labour’s cuts to the winter fuel payment if he becomes Tory leader, saying he would not “undermine” his promise to restore trust in politics by writing a budget “four years’ out.”

The shadow security minister told LBC: “I’m not going to write a budget for four years’ time. You know that it wouldn’t be honest for me to do so.

“I’m not going to promise to restore trust and immediately undermine it by making promises that are four years’ out… there’s no way that anyone can write it at this stage.”

He said under his leadership the Tories would “look after old people” by “making sure we support them in difficult times”.

James Cleverly has said he supports Israel’s military incursion into Lebanon.

Asked on Sky News if he supports Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon, the former foreign secretary said: “I do, and the reason why is what I have always said, Israel has the right to defend itself.

“Israel has been at the receiving end of rockets from Hamas, who are embedded within Lebanese society. I love Lebanon. I’ve been to Beirut.

“I’ve spoken with representatives of many of the parts of Lebanese society on a very, very regular basis.

“But Hezbollah are doing huge damage, not just to Israel, but to the Lebanese people.

Those rockets have been raining down for months, and Israel has now taken action.

“My support has always come with the caveat that Israel must continue to adhere to international humanitarian law. They absolutely have the right to defend themselves.”

For context, Israel’s military says it has begun a “targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon, with its troops conducting raids on Hezbollah targets and infrastructure along the border.

If the atmosphere at the Labour conference was a good deal less euphoric than might have been expected for a party just returning to government on the back of a landslide majority after 14 years in the wilderness, the mood among Conservatives as they assembled in Birmingham was a little more upbeat than might have been predicted, given the scale of the party’s election defeat.

This slight uplift, however, largely reflected the missteps of the new government in its first weeks, rather than any achievement of the Conservatives over the same time.

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