Tom Tugendhat earned a round of applause from the studio audience by being the only candidate in Channel 4's Tory leadership debate to say Boris Johnson is not honest.
Rishi Sunak, Kemi Badenoch, Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt were all asked by host Krishnan Guru-Murthy whether or not Prime Minister Johnson was honest. Each chose to qualify their answer to a greater or lesser extent.
When the host asked Mr Tugendhat if Mr Johnson was honest, he simply answered "no". The answer was met with a round of applause from the studio audience.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Tom Tugendhat
Commentator Marina Purkiss tweeted: "Biggest applause of the debate so far goes to Tom Tugendhat…for being the only one to admit that Boris Johnson does not tell the truth. It’s a low bar, folks."
Twitter user @RespectIsVital wrote: "Tom Tugendhat straight up saying Boris Johnson isn't an honest man clearly rattled Penny Mordaunt." Another, @rcuffy, added: "Well done Tom Tugendhat!! Johnson is not an honest man."
Writer and campaigner Femi Oluwole said the answers of the other candidates were "pathetic". He tweeted: "Is Boris Johnson an honest man? Sunak, Mordaunt, Truss, Badenoch ALL dodge the question. Tom Tugendhat is the ONLY one to say NO."
Mr Tugendhat also earned praise from across the aisle for his answer. Labour MP Carolyn Harris tweeted: "Hats off to @TomTugendhat for his honesty."
Two further TV debates are scheduled between the candidates. The next will be on ITV on Sunday, followed by a final debate on Sky News on Monday.
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