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- Mordaunt and Badenoch clash over trans self-ID
- All you need to know about the runners and riders
- The candidates' weaknesses, in their own words
- Our must-read interview with Tom Tugendhat
Kemi Badenoch clashed with Penny Mordaunt over her record on transgender issues during the first televised debate of the Conservative leadership race.
Ms Mordaunt denied ever having supported gender self-identification while equalities minister.
But Ms Badenoch said she found Ms Mordaunt’s account “difficult to accept”
“When I took over as equalities minister in 2020, the policy that was being pushed was self-ID,” she argued.
She added: "I didn't work with Penny, but my understanding was that the previous minister who had done the role had wanted self-ID, and that was something that I reversed with Liz [Truss]."
Ms Mordaunt retaliated, saying: "That is not correct and this will all be on record in Government."
Ms Badenoch replied: "It is on record."
