Tory leadership frontrunner Penny Mordaunt has lashed out at “smears” against her in the race to be the next Prime Minister.
The Trade Minister hit out at the “toxic politics” of the campaign - two minutes after defending a misleading statement she made herself in 2016.
Ms Mordaunt faces questions over her stance on trans rights after she was accused of hardening her views to appeal to Tory MPs.
A leaked document suggested that, while Equalities Minister, she backed removing at least one element of the medical process for trans people to legally transition.
But Ms Mordaunt claimed she was the victim of smears as allies of right-winger Liz Truss try to keep her off the final ballot.
The minister said trans people should have to get a diagnosis of dysphoria before legally changing their gender, and “we didn’t actually - on my shift - produce the policy”.
She produced a statement by former colleague Baroness Williams, which said: “Having sat in the Equalities Office for many years, I am shocked to see such incorrect reporting and briefings.”
And today Ms Mordaunt told the BBC : “We all know what’s going on. This is the type of toxic politics that people want to get away from.
“The poor British public have a month of this to go, they've got a month of us choosing their prime minister.
“And it's an opportunity for our party to show ourselves at our best, and we should be talking and focusing on the issues that concern them.”
She added: “There's a number of smears going on in the papers. That's not representative of how my party operates.
“My colleagues are very angry and upset that this is how the leadership contest is being dragged down.”
As the race got increasingly bitter, knocked-out candidate Suella Braverman said Ms Mordaunt “is woke”.
Backing Liz Truss, Ms Braverman said: “A real priority for me [is] she knows what a woman is.”
Truss supporter Iain Duncan Smith said: “I want to know what does she believe her big achievements are and where was she actually fighting for things.”
Kemi Badenoch supporter Lee Rowley added: “Penny has a set of questions to answer, I don't think she really answered those particularly well in the debate on Friday”.
Ironically, Ms Mordaunt’s blast at “toxic politics” came moments after she defended her misleading 2016 claim that Britain had no veto on Turkey joining the EU.
As part of the Vote Leave campaign, she said Turkey “are going to join” as part of a bid to persuade Brits to vote for Brexit.
And she twice claimed Britain had no veto on Turkey joining the 28-nation bloc - despite the fact it did.
Yet despite Britain having a veto and Turkey not having joined six years later, Ms Mordaunt today defended her remarks.
She told the BBC: “ David Cameron had given undertakings to Turkey that the UK would support its accession to the EU. Just because there’s a provision in a treaty, it doesn’t mean the UK could ever have used that.”
In a TV interview today, Ms Mordaunt said she “will have to do something this Autumn” to help with the cost of living - refused to say what it will be.
She insisted “that needs to be done at a proper fiscal event”, despite already announcing billions in pledges to halve VAT on fuel and raise income tax thresholds.
She also refused to say whether her plans would lead to public spending cuts.
And she refused to say if she'd give Boris Johnson a Cabinet job, though she added: “I don’t think he would be around to serve."
She and rival Tom Tugendhat both ruled out leaving the European Convention on Human Rights after Liz Truss left the idea on the table.
Mr Tugendhat, who is tipped to be knocked out of the race tomorrow, said Boris Johnson’s Partygate excuses were “rather more fictional than reality”.
But he appeared to stumble himself by spontaneously expanding the HS2 rail line all the way to Scotland in a move that would cost tens of billions.
Mr Tugendhat said: “I would make sure the HS2 tracks went all the way to Scotland."
A campaign source played down his comments, saying he would “explore all infrastructure options” for connecting parts of the UK as part of a 10-year plan.
Elsewhere, Rishi Sunak vowed to review one EU law an hour as he tried to talk tough on Brexit.
And the Tory environment chief, Alok Sharma, threatened to resign after several leadership hopefuls watered down pledges on the climate.
Penny Mordaunt and Tom Tugendhat both backed the target to hit Net Zero emissions by 2050 but added caveats.
In the first TV debate on Friday, ex-equalities minister Kemi Badenoch and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss claimed Ms Mordaunt had backed a push for self-identification for trans people.
Ms Mordaunt said while she had ordered a review of the Gender Recognition Act, she was not in favour of self-identification and would "not have divorced it from healthcare".
The Sunday Times published details of a note from a senior civil servant sent in July 2019 to Ms Mordaunt and other senior officials in the Government Equalities Office (GEO).
The note stated: "Currently, applicants are required to provide two medical reports: a diagnosis of gender dysphoria (which we are now intending to remove) and a report detailing any medical treatment received.
"There is no requirement to have undergone any medical treatment as part of transitioning, nor does the report's contents have any bearing on the panel's decision, so it is unclear what practical value this current report has in the process.
"However, this element of the process goes to the heart of whether we have a system that is essentially self-identification, or whether there are external checks in place."
The note went on to state that "you have all indicated you would like some form of medical requirement to remain part of the process - particularly some form of assessment that the applicant is of 'sound mind' as they make their application to change their gender.
"This could be from a GP, a registered counsellor or a therapist. This would help safeguard vulnerable individuals, and would also provide a defence against potential vexatious applications."
