The Tory leadership favorite has repeatedly refused to commit to replacing Lord Gade, who quit as Johnson’s independent ethics adviser in June, saying he had been forced into a “despicable” position by the prime minister. “You can’t outsource ethics to a councilor – we need ethics running through government,” the foreign secretary told a Tory event in Birmingham on Tuesday night. “I think one of the problems we have in this country is that we have a lot of consultants and independent agencies and rules and regulations,” Ms Truss said. “For me it’s about understanding the difference between right and wrong – I’m someone who has always acted with integrity.” Pressed on whether she would have counsel to hold her accountable, she said: “If a leader says he doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong and has to outsource that to an outside ethics consultant, I think that’s fundamental. problem.” Ms Truss said she would uphold the standards by appointing “a strong leader” and bring them back to Downing Street “so they are at the heart of government and ensuring there is zero tolerance for bad behaviour”. Her rival Rishi Sunak, who said he would appoint a replacement for Lord Geidt, has promised to run a government of “competence” and “decency” if he manages to pull off an upset and emerge victorious in the contest on September 5. Mr Sunak attacked Mrs Truss’ plan to prioritize tax cuts over immediate support with rising energy bills, warning that “millions of people will face the risk of impoverishment”. He insisted a “compassionate government” must help pensioners and the most vulnerable with extra payments. Denouncing Mrs Truss’ “unfunded” tax cuts, Mr Sunack also claimed he was Margaret Thatcher’s true heir. “Why is she so respected? … She was ready to make difficult decisions. She was never prepared to make a promise she couldn’t keep.” The outsider also refused to say whether he would vote for a Truss administration’s tax-cutting budget if he were an MP – saying it was a “hypothetical” scenario. Ms Truss insisted the bleak economic forecast was not “destiny” when asked about her earlier claim that a UK recession could be “avoided”. He said: “We have the ability to change our future by doing things differently.” He denied that he had invited the comparison with Thatcher – saying it was the media who “keep doing it all the time” – and insisted we need “different policies now” to those she introduced in 1979. Ms Truss defended her decision to cut £235m of Environment Agency funding when she was environment secretary amid growing concerns about the volume of sewage being discharged into Britain’s waterways, saying she had “a lot of faith” in its effectiveness government. “Believe me, there were things the Environment Agency did that they shouldn’t have done,” he claimed – before saying it was up to Ofwat to regulate water companies. Mrs Truss also revealed she wanted to redirect the £13bn earmarked for the health and social care levy away from the NHS and into social care. “I think it needs to be addressed to local authorities to deal with the very real issues of social care,” he said. Tory leader hopeful Rishi Sunak in Birmingham (PA) Mr Sunak, meanwhile, defended his plan to charge people £10 for missed GP appointments as part of a “crackdown on abusers” of the NHS. He said reform was vital so the government “stops throwing money” at the health service. Mr Sunak also said he wanted to keep the door open to a deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol, saying: “With a new prime minister we have an opportunity to restore that relationship… I have a very good relationship with all the counterparts my [in the EU and Ireland].” But the frontrunner received huge cheers when she told the rioters she would “stop the militant unions” with legislation to curb strikes and take on “left-wing identity politics”. “I’m a straight talking Yorkshire woman and I know a woman is a woman and I’ll protect our spaces for a sex.” Not to be outdone in culture war matters, Mr Sunak vowed to “take on this left-wing woke culture that seems to want to invalidate our history, our values – and our women”. Outside the rally at Birmingham’s NEC around 40 protesters had gathered, chanting ‘Tory scum – out of Broome!’ while party members lined up to get inside. A knot of activists, huddled behind police barricades, carried placards bearing the Socialist Workers’ Party badge with slogans such as: “Screw the Tories out, nurses no nukes”. Another read: “Truss Non of Them.”
