good evening. i'm clive myrie. the candidates have had their say. for the next hour, reaction and analysis to tonight's conservative leadership debate. and then there were five. they're vying to be the uk's next prime minister — spent the last hour debating brexit, the nhs, the environment. i think october the 31st is eminently feasible. not a guarantee.

i'm vicki young at broadcasting house — i'll be asking the candidates and their teams how they think they performed. watching too — some of the party members who'll make the final decision on who will make it to number 10. i'm annita mcveigh at sale conservative club — i'll be asking people here if they liked what they heard. and we'll hear from some of members of the public who put their questions to the candidates — did they feel their questions were answered? in the last hour, the remaining 5 candidates for the conservative party leadership all went head to head here at the bbc, in the latest hustings to become the next prime minister. borisjohnson, michael gove, jeremy hunt, sajid javid and rory stewart are all still in the race after dominic raab was knocked out — and faced questions from viewers across the country — and newsnight‘s emily maitlis.

let's get a flavour of the debate which began with a question on brexit and whether the uk would leave by october the 31st. in the end we are in a room with a door, and the door is called parliament. i'm the only person here trying to find the key to the door. everyone else is staring at the wall shouting believe in britain. we've run into that door three times already, rory. we've got to have a different route out. we can't represent the same cold porridge for a fourth time and ask people to say that's what they want. we need to have a different approach. where i think you're right, realistic, is that if you have an arbitrary date and we get so close, emily, to being able to get over the line, close, emily, to being able to get overthe line, i close, emily, to being able to get over the line, i think the view that boris and saj articulated, that we'll rip up the progress we've made... when is your last leaving

date? i've argued we should leave at the earliest opportunity, and i believe the most important thing, as the first person in the group... in 2019? absolutely. i believe we can make progress and ensure we are in a position to leave. boris and i fought on the league campaign, boris joined me on the campaign, we both believe it in our heart, but i worry that if we got to october the 315t, and we were so close to getting the deal over the line, would you at that point saint michael, we're almost there —— say michael. that point saint michael, we're almost there -- say michael. can you give mea almost there -- say michael. can you give me a guarantee on october 31st? michael is guaranteeing to get out by the end of december. i think october 31st is eminently feasible. not a guarantee. is that your date? if we now say that we have a

deadline that is not a deadline and if we allow october 31st to come and 90, if we allow october 31st to come and go, as march came and went and april came and went, the public will look at us with increasing mystification and we will continue to haemorrhage support. can anyone on the stage guarantee? can you raise your hand if you guarantee to leave by october sist. if you guarantee to leave by october 31st. to ask this question, ok, i'd agree that the only way we can leave is without a no deal then i would agree with that but what would you say to the sheep farmer i met in shropshire whose business would be destroyed by 40% tariffs on lamb? just before october 315t, if there was a deal insight and you gave up and you said this is a hard deadline, we are out, people would look at you and say boris, you have yourdream, look at you and say boris, you have your dream, you got to number ten, but you destroyed my family business. off-course, and nobody

wa nts a business. off-course, and nobody wants a disorderly no deal off that kind but it is important to prepare... i congratulate what you and michael and others have done to prepare for it. i think there's a wide measure of consensus that we should get out on october 31st. we must prepare for no deal. and that is the way that we will get the deal that we need, and the way to come out is not with a disorderly brexit, but with what everyone understands, taking the solution of the irish border issues, putting it into the implementation period. there is no solution without the backstop. you do need to have a deadline. you absolutely need a deadline because without it you aren't going to focus minds. anyone who has negotiated anything, you need a deadline. in terms of getting through the door, what we can get through is what has already gone through, the withdrawal

agreement with a change to the backstop. this is the only credible plan and it can be done. brexit was the big talking point. let's speak to our chief political correspondent vicki young, who's here at the bbc where the debate took place. the teams have their supporters here watching what's going on and willing to give their assessment. i'm joined by emily morgan, backing michael gove. what did you make about the brexit performance? i'm not clear what each candidate wants. a lot of discussion about when we leave the eu but not much detail about how. what is michael gove's position?” think he was the one person who cut through the noise and set out a very clear three—point plan, restoring power—sharing to northern ireland, putting the full stop on the backstop, as he said and making sure that a deal can be voted on and approved by the house of commons. there was a lot of noise. i think he

had some serious answers to serious questions. he is going to have the same problem mo had come a hung parliament, not everyone is across the agreement and there is no guarantee that the eu are going to any changes. of course there's no guarantees but having a serious plan but really taking personal charge, as michael has committed to do, to restoring power to the devolved assembly in northern ireland is important. we talked about links to the irish government, with northern ireland politicians. that was a missing part. it is impossible to solve this. he committed to protecting the peace process, which is noticeable. a lot of noise from the contenders but michael actually had the space to set out what he wa nted had the space to set out what he wanted to do about this. he can't guarantee leaving at the end of october. he said may be the end of the year but he can't guarantee that. some of them asking questions

have defected to the brexit party because they want clear answers. we heard from people who weren't voting for the tory party because they were more tempted by other opposition parties. one questionnaire asked about her husband's business in the event of a no deal. that's why michael said that if we can leave by october 31st that's all well and good, but if we are couple of weeks 01’ good, but if we are couple of weeks or days away from getting the agreement over the line, why wouldn't you allow time to make sure you have an orderly brexit? and what if he has to take us to a no—deal brexit? not much clarification about what it means for people, for that lady worried about her husband's job. michael has one of the departments that is most exposed and needing to prepare for a no—deal brexit so he is committed and has overseen that work as secretary of state, so he knows about a no—deal brexit and does not want it to

happen. you can't compel two parties to agree. the other thing that came out strongly is that we must deliver brexit. people voted for this and it's going to be difficult with the other issues that people raised until we have delivered brexit. other issues that people raised until we have delivered brexit! thanks forjoining us. michael gove added some more votes today but not many, he'll be a bit worried about whether there's momentum behind his campaign. sure, and perhaps some worried about mr hunt as well. he increased his backers but only by a small amount too. is there concerned that second place, everyone assumes boris johnson takes first, that second place may be slipping? definitely a sense that borisjohnson will make it to the final two, and it is a matter of the others scrapping to go up matter of the others scrapping to go up against him. jeremy hunt was a good second last time round but

again, ithink good second last time round but again, i think there will be some saying they would have expected him to have added more support to those people that he had previously. some, critics saying his campaign has been a bit lacklustre. i'm sure the person who's with me now is going to dispute that, amber rudd. do you think we got answers on brexit? a lot of talk about the deadline of october 31st but not much detail about how we're going to leave if there is no no deal. it was only one hour and there were a number of candidates, so getting the detail was hard but i thoughtjeremy hunt was hard but i thoughtjeremy hunt was the clear winner. the right balance between facing up to the difficult task ahead and wanting to protect peoplesjobs. the question he asked doris about the shropshire farmer, whether boris was going to get his dream of getting to number ten but would he protect people's interests, that was at the core of what people are considering on brexit. would jeremy hunt consider a

no—deal brexit? brexit. would jeremy hunt consider a no-deal brexit? yes, he absolutely would. it's not something you want. not at all, i've been frank about it but i put my trust injeremy because i believe he has the right experience and skills and commitment to be able to deliver on getting a deal. what we had tonight was about different people's views about how they can be the one to negotiate an approved deal with the eu and get support in parliament. having the right attitude to the approach and being realistic about the challenge are the things jeremy being realistic about the challenge are the thingsjeremy has and i think we had a lot of support for him tonight. oxford man, speaking up for the fact that jeremy was the most compelling. that was what we got from the debate. thank you. we are doing it all again tomorrow with round three of the contest. thank you. one of the questions was about the

language used. i'm a imam and everyday i see the effect of islamophobia on my community. words have consequences. do the candidates agree? borisjohnson, have consequences. do the candidates agree? boris johnson, you have consequences. do the candidates agree? borisjohnson, you have said that women who wear veils look like letterboxes. do you accept that words have consequences? yes, of course, and insofar as my words have given france over the last 20, 30 yea rs, given france over the last 20, 30 years, when i have been —— given offence over the last 20, 30 years, when i was a journalist, i would apologise. i would say this to my friend in bristol, when my muslim great—grandfather came to the country in fear of his life in he did so because he knew

it was a place that was a beacon of generosity and openness and a willingness to welcome people from around the world. what would he think of you using those words? i will ensure that is how our country acts. concerns from one of the question is about the language that editions use. with me for the next hour, our panel; isabel hardman, assistant editor at the spectator, faiza shaheen, director of the centre for labour and social studies, and labour prospective parliamentary candidate for chingford and woodford green, and the conservative commentator, tim montgomerie. great to see you all. isabel, give me your winner and why.” great to see you all. isabel, give me your winner and why. i think the winner was those who survived until the end of the programme! laughter one of the problems is that so many candidates got through this round of voting. five men trying to talk over each other, and emily maitlis did and amazing job each other, and emily maitlis did and amazingjob in each other, and emily maitlis did and amazing job in controlling them. i don't think we got very much clarity from them, especially on

brexit. it wasn't tennis because there were so many of them playing, they were batting answers and retorts between each other. the most interesting round was about tax and spending where we got some clarity from each of the candidates but certainly on brexit, at the end of those questions i think both of the questioners went away completely befuddled by what they'd heard. brexit is the dominant issue. do you think, as isabel suggests, that there was some noise and not much clarity? i agree. people watching the other debate on sunday, there was a winner, but this time it is ha rd was a winner, but this time it is hard to see who stood out. on brexit, a lot of whimsical answers, there was no depth. i don't think anyone had a good idea on how to ta ke anyone had a good idea on how to take it forward, including rory stewart, whose idea was to bring back theresa may's deal, which was historically defeated many times. i

think that people watching it wouldn't get any assurance that these are the people who can take us forward from the quagmires that is brexit. is that the problem, that we are asking questions looking for a nswe i’s are asking questions looking for answers when there aren't any a nswe i’s , answers when there aren't any answers, 01’ answers when there aren't any answers, or it is difficult to get one? rory stewart was constantly saying to borisjohnson one? rory stewart was constantly saying to boris johnson and one? rory stewart was constantly saying to borisjohnson and others contemplating no deal about how he will get it through but the same question can be put to him. he's saying he will somehow get theresa may's withdrawal agreement through oi'i may's withdrawal agreement through on the fourth time of asking. there is fog surrounding each of the candidate's plans. partly because of the nature of the format, we didn't really get answers. i'd rather see the candidates grilled by andrew neil or you, clive, for 30 the candidates grilled by andrew neil oryou, clive, for30 minutes, where they are pinned down on some of the substance rather than 30 or 42nd sound bites. i know that we all like debates, great theatre, but as

a forum for understanding where the candidates stand, they are lacking in that clarity. i get the impression from you that boris johnson's fear that there may be a cacophony was actually born out night. it was his first debate, he missed one on channel 4 and the westminster hustings with journalists. how did he do? he did 0k journalists. how did he do? he did ok on most of the questions in that he was taking his campaign as safety first, trying to be quiet and reasonable, except for when he was asked about islamophobia. his answer on that and how he handled the nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe case were really bad and i'm surprised he wasn't better prepared for them. he almost seemed nonplussed by them. given that there are weaknesses that eve ryo ne given that there are weaknesses that everyone highlights on the hour about him... he started talking about him... he started talking about how people had taken his words

from his columns and escalated them, trying to suggest that he defended people while writing as a journalist. his comment about the burqa was made when he was a politician. he could have defended his column. while he was making those remarks about women who wear burqas and what they look like, he was trying to defend the concept of freedom. he didn't do that then and he ended up talking about how his great—grandfather would have been proud, which i don't think even people in his family would care about. it is a sticky wicket for him, isn't it, and may be difficult to defend those words and he's having that trouble. he's not playing to the the general public, he's playing to the conservative membership. we know that the conservative membership is generally ha rd conservative membership is generally hard line on brexit, they may not ca re hard line on brexit, they may not care as much about his islamophobic comments. it was difficult to hear him answering that and essentially saying that he can't be islamophobic

because his great grandad was muslim, which is a massive copout. it highlights again, borisjohnson, who is the frontrunner and many of the members want as the next prime minister, doesn't take islamophobia and many other issues seriously, and ata time and many other issues seriously, and at a time when the country is so divided, it is very concerning. tim, you know the conservative party very well, is it fair to say that there are people who are going to be making the decision in a few weeks' time for whom boris johnson's comments are ok? some will regard his comments as offensive, some will think they are ok. we had a little bit of news made in the debate. there was a muslim on the panel, sajid javid, a muslim background and he had the candidates committing to an external examination of the tory party's record on its limo phobia which isn't a bad thing. one word

for sajid javid, i think he did well. he was clear on brexit, talking about the importance of the conservative party, committing to public services and he got in his remark about islamophobia. i think he talked to the candidates about how the debate should be conducted. the conservative party must emerge from the contest with its reputation enhanced and there is a little bit too much blue on blue. sajid javid was better at making a positive case for his own candidacy rather than knocking the other candidates. boris think will be pleased. he needed to come without a knockout blow and no one got close to that against him. as the frontrunner he still has that status. we've talked about boris. let's talk about rory stewart because he nearly doubled the number of mps he got in the second round of voting, isabel. how did he do? not as well on sunday night. he built this before the debate that he was

going to go for borisjohnson, and he did, and i think that made him come across as a bit more macho, to use the criticism he had used off the other candidates. not what he was looking for. and he took off his tie! where was this going to go by the end of the hour? laughter this is true! he obviously struck a stronger contrast with boris johnson than any of the other candidates and it underlines the criticism of michael gove for instance that letting rory stewart into the final two would polarise the conservative party. some may think that is a good thing because it will be a battle of ideas. other people might say that rory stewart doesn't have a single brexiteer backing him, so is he going to reunite the party, especially after spending the next few weeks laying into the person who is likely to become prime minister? we're going to hear from you

is likely to become prime minister? we're going to hearfrom you again inafew we're going to hearfrom you again in a few minutes' time. we are going to go to vicki young now. talking about sajid javid, he snuck in by the skin of his teeth with 33 votes earlier on. let's find out what his team think about the performance. victoria atkins joins me. he looked to me like someone who was going for dominic raab's votes, talking about hard brexit and other things i think people might have thought, that's not what we thought you represented. i think he wants to deliver brexit and he wants to do so with a deal, but also he's realistic about preparing for no deal. in terms foregoing for other people's votes, tonight has shown that a win isa win votes, tonight has shown that a win is a win and it is all to play for 110w. is a win and it is all to play for now. tomorrow, colleagues will be thinking about how the debate went and who did well. the standout factor from this debate is that in a time where the country is

disagreeing, when there's a certain amount of anger, saj cut through that and got a bit of unity among the candidates on several occasions. where doing a count to how many times the other candidates mentioned saj. tax cuts, something traditionally that conservative party members want, but he talked more about public services, which was interesting and maybe not what the conservative party wants. he's using his experiences, from his childhood... he made it clear how his family and he relied upon public services, vital public services that we all care about so much, and his personal experience has shaped so much thinking, notjust in the leadership campaign but in his work as home secretary. he's gone from a one bed flat in bristol to becoming home secretary with one of the highest offices of state, when the odds were against him. he's matched

it, he's invested in policing, and i think this is great preparation for the moment he walks through number ten. do you think he can get to the last two given that he just scraped in? where will he get support from? i have great faith in my colleagues, i know how seriously they are taking this. they will look at the tv debate, they will reflect on the policies he's put forward, for insta nce policies he's put forward, for instance his city background, the public finances, and the debt to gdp ratio, and he believes we can secure some finances that way. that's the sort of thing he will do to invest in ourfuture when sort of thing he will do to invest in our future when brexit is delivered. i'm excited about his infrastructure fund. i'm a lincolnshire mp, there's a lot of broadband infrastructure we would like and i'm looking forward to his plans on that huge £100 million

fund. . thanks forjoining us. we haven't got long to try and get more votes because the next round of voting starts tomorrow afternoon. well it's conservative party members who will make the final decision on who'll be the next prime minister, after the candidates are whittled down to just two. they'll spend the next few weeks travelling round the country to local party hustings. let's join annita mcveigh at the sale conservative club in greater manchester. hello, clive, good evening. sale conservative club. watching them watching us going on, very interesting to watch the grassroots here who will ultimately decide who will be the next conservative party leader and prime minister as they watched the debate. did it change their mind? gentlemen, we heard from you earlier, a quick reaction who you earlier, a quick reaction who you thought it best. earlier i was

undecided. now my shortlist is down to three, betweenjeremy hunt, sajid javid and michael gove. ifelt to three, betweenjeremy hunt, sajid javid and michael gove. i felt boris johnson was held back, he held back his views and didn't really provide clarity for me. still some decision—making for you. clarity for me. still some decision-making for you. anyone but rory. a good stable of candidates, i'll choose one, i'm happy with any of them. for me it is between boris and saj. on tonight's performances, michael gove. interesting, quite a range of views, let's get some more detailed reaction. i've got with me the president of sale conservative club, janet, who is the steward... disappearing, she doesn't want to be interviewed again. carol, you are the president, you've been a member for 2h years, and laura evans, we

heard from you earlier, so beginning with you, what did you think of the debate and who impressed you the most? i had to write it down. i didn't like the opening, i thought it was a bit too argumentative but when it settled down i really felt we had a good team of people there. ididn't we had a good team of people there. ididn‘tfind we had a good team of people there. i didn't find rory very appealing at all. he almost looked disengaged. he didn't do it for me. jeremy hunt did a greatjob. boris underplayed his card. we'll hear from a greatjob. boris underplayed his card. we'll hearfrom him next time. saj was good and michael gove was good. you said that jeremy hunt hadn't been on your radar, so did he impress you the most? yes, i think he came out really well. i was presently surprised. when i've been interviewed before, people said that i must have someone in mind and i

really had to try to keep an open mind. what was sown tonight, although the questions were a bit too constructed, i think there was a good debate. enough to make you vote forjeremy hunt if he's in the final two ? forjeremy hunt if he's in the final two? enough to make me want to watch it again and see. beryl, same question? the same as my friend here, ithinkjeremy question? the same as my friend here, i thinkjeremy hunt came out best. i was disappointed in boris johnson. i didn't feel he was powerful enough today, tonight. one thing i was disappointed about, the elderly were never discussed. of all the questions, no one asked questions about care for the elderly, which is something that i feel quite passionate about. i think there were issues they could have discussed and didn't. i've got an open mind as well. you haven't made up open mind as well. you haven't made up your mind yet who you're going to

vote for. definitely not. this idea that according to the latest polling that according to the latest polling that boris johnson that according to the latest polling that borisjohnson is way ahead amongst conservative grassroots members, what do you say to that? well, i have to say that i'm not boris's greatest fan. i was theresa may's fan and they stabbed her in the back and now he's trying to move the back and now he's trying to move the goalposts, saying one thing and possibly meaning another. the same with some of the other candidates saying they wanted to move the goalposts, from october 315t, having some extra time. we've progressed up, we can't have anymore extra time. we've got sort it out. not for you, boris? not at the moment. let's talk about the detail of what was discussed. one of the most heated round of answers was in relation to the backstop. did you feel that anyone acquitted themselves particularly well in answering the

question? no, they made it clear that it question? no, they made it clear thatitis question? no, they made it clear that it is going to be a problem. it is and was and will be a problem. we need to get some more fundamental fa cts need to get some more fundamental facts about how we're going to deal with it, how we're going to get that through the government, how it will be resolved. i think they will have to be more clear in their clarity on that matter. other questions were about lifting the tax burden for workers, how you're going to deliver no deal against the consult of —— consent of parliament. and which one of them, whether they thought it was desirable to get the uk out of the eu on the 31st, by the october 31st. did you feel you got the detail you we re did you feel you got the detail you were looking for? chatting to people in the club earlier, pretty much eve ryo ne in the club earlier, pretty much everyone said to me, wejust actually need more detail from the remaining candidates. yes. what concerns me is the fact

that what theresa may was suggesting, that was all knocked back, what will they do that will be any different to what she suggested? we don't seem to be making any progress and it concerns me as a memberof the progress and it concerns me as a member of the public, we are not making any progress, everyone you talk to is fed up with it. we have become a joke, we have friends in germany andl become a joke, we have friends in germany and i cannot believe going oi'i. germany and i cannot believe going on. it isjust as it is at the moment. let's see which of these candidates and mergers, work which two are merged into the final round that you will be voting on. thank you for your views tonight. it will be interesting to see what the political reality is for whoever becomes prime minister and if it

matches what they are saying in these debates. the winner of the conservative leader contest and the next prime minister will be announced at the end ofjuly. with me are two people who have worked for theresa may. katie perrior is former director of communication at number 10 and chris wilkins is theresa may's former head of strategy. we just heard there was conservative party members who seems to be giving the nod to mr hunt and mr gove as the nod to mr hunt and mr gove as the winners. i don't think there we re the winners. i don't think there were any particular winners, i'm surprised you didn't ply me with booze because it would have been more enjoyable, it was very depressing and i think the only winner might have beenjeremy corbyn because i don't think this did them any good, i don't think the format worked for anyone, all talking over each other, i don't think it displayed the conservative party in its best light and i'm not sure any new votes were won tonight but i

thought michael gove and sajid javid and jeremy hunt had a bit of freight run because people were laying into boris or rory and those in the middle got their answer is the best. was that part of the problem, the cacophony that boris johnson suggested it might be the case?” think he was proven right, it was difficult to hear what was going on and some of the answers and emily did a good job keeping it under control but people clearly came in with game plans and one was to target rory stewart, i don't think he had a great evening, the format didn't work well for him and it was clear that the others have been rattled because they went after him and they also turned their fire on borisjohnson a bit and they also turned their fire on boris johnson a bit and the other three were given not so much free reign as nobody really targeting

them, sol reign as nobody really targeting them, so i think boris was proven right but the format worked for him because nobody really helped him to account. there is a problem for the leading four candidates in that they still cannot explain how they will get the key to get through that door thatis get the key to get through that door that is parliament to get a new deal if that ends up being what we have to do. -- a no deal brexit. rory stewart is saying we cannot get much more out of europe than what we have not so how do we work with that, and other site we want to go back and start again where there are lots of a nswe rs start again where there are lots of answers around northern ireland, michael gove was good on northern ireland, it showed he understood northern ireland, he said he had worked there and he talked about politicians there so lots of answers around brexit but no real clarity as

to how to tackle it and get us past that october deadline and people we re that october deadline and people were being asked to volunteer to guarantee that deadline and not eve ryo ne guarantee that deadline and not everyone was quick to put their hand up. we have another vote tomorrow, rory stewart almost doubled the number of mps he got in the second round of voting, does it feel after tonight that he has hit the buffers? i think his momentum stalled slightly, he was effectively taken down by the others so if there was a loser tonne light it was possibly rory. the other danger tomorrow, as before debate there was a possibility of other candidates lending votes to sajid javid to knock rory out, i thought sajid had a good night, he made a good case for being in number 11, a good night, he made a good case for being in number11,l a good night, he made a good case for being in number 11, i think he

was clearly saying he wanted to be boris's chancellor and that makes it more likely that votes might be lent to him because they are still worried about rory going through. good to have you with us. thank you. let's go back to vicki young, who is in another part of the bbc and she has some gas for us. everyone was keen to hear from boris johnson who didn't take part in the channel 4 johnson who didn't take part in the channel a debate, he has done hustings with mps behind—the—scenes but this was his moment to explain some of his policies, matt hancock is with me now. there were a lot of questions about brexit, talk about the deadline of october at the 31st, it seems that is a clear deadline for him but he still talks about nobody wanting a disorderly no—deal brexit, is that clear? nobody wants

a disorderly brexit but the best way to deliver brexit is with a deal by the 31st of october and boris johnson is best placed to deliver that and that is one of the reasons iam that and that is one of the reasons i am backing him, that and that is one of the reasons iam backing him, because we that and that is one of the reasons i am backing him, because we need to deliver it. he talked about something different to the withdrawal agreement. clearly we will need a different deal to the one to raise my proposed because that has failed in parliament and i made the case for that in the past and that is what we need to do, to have a different deal that parliament can support that allows us parliament can support that allows us to get into a free trading relationship both with our european neighbours and around the world, thatis neighbours and around the world, that is the goal and i felt boris was clear about the need to deliver brexit. how can he achieve that as theresa may could not? by changing

the deal. we need a negotiation with the deal. we need a negotiation with the eu on changing the deal that has failed several times and i strongly agree with boris on that and i think he has the ability to unite the conservative party and i think we saw tonight that unity is needed in the conservative party, boris has brought mps from across the party, damian green, paul butland, people seen as pro—european, jacob rees—mogg and mark francois at the other end. because they think they can influence him? no, because he is our unifier, his personality helps bring people together and that is important ina bring people together and that is important in a leader and a prime minister and it's one of the reasons i'm backing boris johnson minister and it's one of the reasons i'm backing borisjohnson because he will be the best, he is the best at

unifying the conservative party which we need to do. some people think he is divisive, he had a question about his comments about women wearing veils, that they looked like letterboxes, his answer seem to be i had a distant relative who was muslim so that was not a great answer. now, he apologised for any offence caused and i will not come down some of the florid language she has used. it's offensive, not flowery. it was an electric moment when he talked about his great—grandfather, he talked about his muslim immigrant great—grandfather who then came to this country as a refugee and made a life for himself, that was a standout moment of the evening and i think what matters is having

somebody who can bring the conservative party together and deliver brexit and help this country move forward with optimism. when he talked about the living wage and what he did in london on a living wage about focusing on education, these are important areas that we have to deliver brexit so we can get on to things like that. matt hancock, thank you, so the view there from team borisjohnson, he is out in front when it comes to endorsements from mps. matt hancock seem pretty happy with his man's performance but how will the backers of rory stewart be feeling? they were delighted when the results came through because he had gained more results than anyone else, let's speak to david kirk. have we had peak rory? i don't think so, he has only just started. we

peak rory? i don't think so, he has onlyjust started. we have seen that he is winning support from lots of other candidates and i'm sure he has picked up support from jeremy hunt's campaign, from michael gove, i think people are saying that rory is a serious candidate and that is what todayis serious candidate and that is what today is shining and the fact he has gone from being last, if you like, he has overtaken two other candidates, he has two places to go up candidates, he has two places to go up and he is into the final round so why think he is a strong credible candidate and there are more mps looking at him and saying he is the person we want to put through in the final round, the best person to take on borisjohnson. final round, the best person to take on boris johnson. he is not a unifier in the sense his supporters come from one wing of the party. he is committed to delivering brexit and has a more credible plan than his opponents. it seems to be theresa may's plan. the idea that we

can go to the eu and say there is a new face and think we will get a different deal, there is no reason why that should happen and the idea that the threat of new deal is credible when parliament will not support it, so the idea we heard from some candidates that we should leave at the end of october but no one explained how and one frustration today, the members of the public were pressing candidates, emily made was pressing candidates but no one could explain how they would leave on the 31st of october but we have a deal agreed with the you come we need to be better at communicating that, with her own collea g u es communicating that, with her own colleagues and those on the other side of the house and we have had the european parliament elections which showed the frustration out there about not having a result of

this, so that has to be the next way forward and rory stewart is the only one making that case instead of making undeliverable promises about getting a new deal or delivering no—deal brexit. getting a new deal or delivering no-deal brexit. he must have been telling some home truths, the question is whether tory mps want to hear them or not. during the debate there were questions put by members of the public and here are two of them. with me is mark nolan from belfast. i'm alsojoined by i'm also joined by james i'm alsojoined byjames pembridge from oxford. let's go to market first. thanks, good evening, gentlemen. i want to say, i grew

up during the troubles and i've seen how a free and open border to the republic of ireland has helped to secure peace and give us more trade and development. can the candidates explain how they will solve the issue of the irish border, a subject many people here see as theresa may's downfall? and let's hearjames‘s question. good evening, everyone. i used to be a conservative voter. i now consider myself without a party. i've reluctantly voted for the brexit party. my question to all of you, what is your plan to lift the tax burden on the working classes? mark, did you get a straight answer to your question about the irish border? no, not really and i wasn't expecting one. it's quite a complex issue but i was expecting a bit more cohesion amongst them. i thought i

would get a round table agreement that something needed to be done but it seemed like they were all arguing amongst each other which is what we have heard over the past three yea rs. have heard over the past three years. was there a single one who gave you any reassurance? before i came on, rory stood out the most common although theresa may's plan is flawed, at least he had something in his hand coming in, saying this is what i believe in and i will get this through. i personally don't believe we can go back to europe in such a short time and negotiate something new and if we do europe holds the cards anyway so i believe we need to refine it, go with that withdrawal agreement and refine it over the next few years. if we crash out, a lot of what the guys were saying this evening related to

negotiating that and communication but we will be in no position to do that. james, your question revolved around the fact you didn't vote tory in the european elections, you voted for the brexit party and your question was on taxes. did you hear what you want to hear from any of them? not particularly come it was like five school kids in the playground, i thought it was embarrassing for the conservatives. the only one who stood out was jeremy hunt who spoke directly to me and had a plan. boro spoke about what he had done in the past but i wa nt what he had done in the past but i want to know what he will do in the future and rory stewart, he started talking about brexit, the point of my question was not to talk about brexit but the future and he was punishing me for voting leave in the referendum by saying we cannot lower

taxes for working people because we need to sort brexit out so it's like he was punishing me for voting leave. jeremy hunt, surprisingly for me, was the standout person. i'm sorry to have to say two disappointed questioners of the panel. it is good to see you both, thank you. with me is that reality check team's chris morris to put some flesh on the bounce. the first question is when will brexit happen? let's wind back, everyone will remember that for months to raise a mate said time and again we will leave on the 29th of march, time ran out, there wasn't a deal and she didn't want to leave with no deal so we moved to the next deadline,

october the 31st. one of the question is can we get everything donein question is can we get everything done in time to either leave with a deal or leave with no deal? let's hear what sajid javid said. it is fundamental that we have to leave, if you do not have a deadline you cannot concentrate minds. he thinks it can be done by october and borisjohnson said it is feasible, michael gove and jeremy hunt said if we need more time we should take that, rory stewart said it would not happen by then. time is already running out, there will not be a prime minister until the end of

july, then there will be a holiday period, you come back in september and there is the party conferences when parliament is in recess and all ofa when parliament is in recess and all of a sudden it's already october and not only would you have to negotiate something, you would have to ratify and legislate so the chances of getting a deal done by the 31st of october look slim so we come back to this question, are you prepared to ta ke this question, are you prepared to take this country out of the eu with no deal? emily maitlis didn't seem to think she had a clear answer on that. some other viewers didn't either. mark nolan asked about the irish border, he wasn't happy with the response, we have known for months that issue is a sticking point, what solutions did they come up point, what solutions did they come up with? i don't think they did, the irish border question has bedevilled

this from the beginning because you're asking to keep the union of the uk together, to protect the sanctity of the eu single market and keep the border between them as open as it is now under all circumstances. that is a difficult thing, there have been potential solutions put forward, let's have a listen to what borisjohnson and thenjeremy listen to what borisjohnson and then jeremy hunt said listen to what borisjohnson and thenjeremy hunt said they thought could happen. there will be no tariffs and there will be no quotas because what we want to do is to get a standstill in our current arrangements, under gatt 24, until such time as we have negotiated the fta. so we have to find a way of showing we can keep that border open, with a soft border and i think through technology we can do that but we have to do that in a way that

doesn't trap us in the customs union. borisjohnson talking about union. boris johnson talking about article 24 boris johnson talking about article 2a of gatt, which means you can trade tariff rate, but you need two sides to agree with that so if you leave with no deal, there is no deal so you cannot use article 2a of gatt to keep that open. jeremy hunt talked about technology but the eu site there is no technology anywhere in the world that would keep this border as open as it is now. thank you, chris morris. let's go back to anita mcveigh. i have with me to people who have been with us since early evening, thank you to stephen and rania. it will be great to get your reaction and compare it to what you have seen

beforehand. it was a great debate, some interesting things involved through the session, and whereas i started of supporting rory, i think at the end of the best candidate was michael gove because he gave a detailed plan for brexit and what will happen after that. rania, earlier you were talking about liking borisjohnson earlier you were talking about liking boris johnson and earlier you were talking about liking borisjohnson and rory stewart even though they are quite farapart, are you stewart even though they are quite far apart, are you still of the same mind? i think the session as a whole it was hard to get the clarity i was looking for but i found boris and rory were disappointing, boris held back and rory, i stepped away from the idea of voting for him. why? i don't think he believes in brexit the same way as the others do and

the same way as the others do and the others i would be happy with as prime minister, may be after brexit? who performed best? go on sajid javid, which is surprising as he got so javid, which is surprising as he got so few votes. he came out with more personality and i think the fight is on, you will see his popularity surged tomorrow. one of the first question is, the first question of the debate was whether they would ta ke the debate was whether they would take the uk out of the eu on the 3ist take the uk out of the eu on the 31st of october. do you think that is an absolute red line, and essential? as someone who voted remain? a lot of conservative members think that with the results that came through in the european elections, a lot of the uk population think that so one has to respect the votes of the general

public in this and there were two candidates that were very pro—brexit and the other candidates were not exactly clear on the timescales are brexit so why think on the next debates, that detail need to come out. so a bit of convincing to be done. thank you both very much. clive, to you. with me again are isabel hardman, fa iza with me again are isabel hardman, faiza and tim montgomerie. who will be in tomorrow? i think sajid javid is in danger of dropping out tomorrow, he seemed to be pitching for the role of chancellor tomorrow so perhaps preparing his exit strategy. it isn't clear who he would take votes from now that dominic raab is out of the contest, borisjohnson is expected to take most of his votes and we might see rory stewart drop a few votes after

this evening. some mps will be frightened by how he is polarising this contest and a casual attitude to brexit richard guest mentioned, he obviously doesn't believe in it but he doesn't seem to take seriously the idea that he is ramming througha seriously the idea that he is ramming through a deal that has already been attempted a number of times. faiza. i think already been attempted a number of times. faiza. ithink rory already been attempted a number of times. faiza. i think rory stewart is losing his momentum, the main thing is looking at the debate today, sunday is to me awful...” wonder why, as a prospective labour party candidate! which one do i have any trust income let alone the other issues, completely out of touch with the impact of cuts and i wonder when they will wake up to the reality

that they will be a minority government. i don't agree all of them are awful but i didn't find ten light and a fine, i don't think it was good for the conservative party and they should be more particular in the formats they agree to but i think sajid and rory are the most vulnerable tomorrow but i don't think it changes my expectation that this could be a boris and hunt final. that's it for the special programme with all the reaction to the conservative leadership debate. the news at ten follows on the bbc news channel. for now, good night. it's already a wet end to the day across england and wales under could be some more rain arriving in some

spots tonight, moisture associated with that, we had rain pushing north across parts of england and wales so still some of that are round this evening, showers in scotland and northern ireland using all doubt some continue in the north—west but a quiet night here, cloud and rain affecting parts of england and wales but for some it may get work as the night goes on, especially for the met office has a yellow warning for thunderstorms, up to 50 millimetres in the wet spots, some disruption in some areas that may have had problems in the past week, lightning, gusty winds and hail, a big variety in rain totals and areas affected by the storms as they spread up from the south later in the night but as you can see from the night but as you can see from the bright colours, where they appear there could be nasty conditions so that's how things are shaping up as we go through the rest of the night, for scotland and

northern ireland many will be dry with clear spells, chili in spots but it means a sunny spot to wednesday, to start quite up warm and muggy night, as wednesday plays out, rain affecting parts of england and wales, thundering downpours for the morning rush hour an still potential for some heavy and thundery downpours in parts of eastern england going into the evening, whereas the midlands, wales, western england will turn drier and some a bit drier, scotland and northern ireland with the sunshine, some showers with a rumble of thunder, on thursday in england and wales have a quieter day, a few showers but many places staying dry, the westerly breeze will feel fresh and temperatures mid to high teens, and temperatures mid to high teens, a few spots getting close to 20 celsius, for friday and saturday its

high pressure building in most places will be dry. two fine days are all we can manage because on sunday it looks like the weather goes downhill again from the west.

the race to be prime minister. the last five candidates take part in a live tv debate as dominic raab is eliminated in the latest round of voting. borisjohnson, who's still way ahead after today's vote by conservative mps. tonight he and his rivals clashed over brexit. none of us wants a no—deal outcome. we have to resolve this, and we have to resolve this quickly. the most important thing is to win for britain, and that means getting out. one of the mistakes we've made so far is by having this sort of flexible deadline. let's get on with it, let's vote it through, let's get it done. there is plenty of argument but were there any real answers as these five

men march their way to number