Tory leadership frontrunners Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch are scoring “own goals” hitting their campaigns to succeed Rishi Sunak, according to a senior parliamentarian.

Robert Jenrick is closing in on Kemi Badenoch in the race to become the next Tory leader, a new poll has indicated. Six weeks ago, YouGov put Ms Badenoch 15 points ahead of Mr Jenrick, with party members backing the former business secretary by 48 per cent compared to Mr Jenrick’s 33 per cent if the two went head-to-head in the final round.

Kemi Badenoch’s poll lead amongst Tory members has dropped from 18 points to just four ahead of rival Robert Jenrick, a new survey has found.