Tory leadership debate cancelled as Sunak and Truss decline attendance and Mordaunt comes under fire

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss (Aaron Chown/Victoria Jones/PA)

Sky News has cancelled its scheduled Tory leadership debate after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss declined to take part after televised hustings descended into public slanging matches.

The broadcaster cancelled Tuesday evening’s event with a day’s notice after sources in Mr Sunak’s camp suggested he would only do further TV confrontations if he succeeds in making it to the final two candidates.