Centrist Tory MPs turn to ex-soldier, critic of the Government and China hawk Tom Tugendhat to be Boris Johnson's successor - but PM's allies have cruelly nicknamed him 'Tom Tugentw*t' and others fear he lacks experience and could be TOO POSH for top job

  • Some centrist Tory MPs believe Tom Tugendhat should be next prime minister
  • Mr Tugendhat is a former soldier, China hawk and vocal critic of the Government
  • He is viewed as an outsider in the potential race to replace Boris Johnson as PM
  • Some Tory MPs fear that Mr Tugendhat lacks the experience for the top job  

By JACK MAIDMENT, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Centrist Tory MPs are turning to former soldier Tom Tugendhat as their choice to take over from Boris Johnson, as the Conservative Party braces for a potential leadership contest. 

Mr Johnson continues to fight for his political life over the Partygate scandal amid fears in Downing Street that the eventual publication of an official report into Whitehall gatherings will prompt a vote of no confidence in his leadership.  

If Mr Johnson lost that vote the race to succeed him would be officially triggered and Tory MPs are now actively considering who would be best placed to be the next prime minister. 

Mr Tugendhat, a vocal critic of the Government and a China hawk, is viewed as an outsider in the potential contest, trailing the frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. 

But some Conservative MPs believe the current chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee would be well-suited to the role and represents the 'best chance for a fresh start'. 

However, some are concerned the 48-year-old, who has never served as a minister, lacks experience and could be viewed by voters as too posh for the premiership. He is the son of a high court judge and the nephew of a Tory peer.

Centrist Tory MPs are turning to former soldier Tom Tugendhat as their choice to take over from Boris Johnson, as the Conservative Party braces for a potential leadership contest

Centrist Tory MPs are turning to former soldier Tom Tugendhat as their choice to take over from Boris Johnson, as the Conservative Party braces for a potential leadership contest

Mr Johnson continues to fight for his political life over the Partygate scandal amid fears in Downing Street that the eventual publication of an official report into Whitehall gatherings will prompt a vote of no confidence in his leadership

Mr Johnson continues to fight for his political life over the Partygate scandal amid fears in Downing Street that the eventual publication of an official report into Whitehall gatherings will prompt a vote of no confidence in his leadership

Mr Tugendhat, a vocal critic of the Government and a China hawk, is viewed as an outsider in the potential leadership contest, trailing the frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss

Mr Tugendhat, a vocal critic of the Government and a China hawk, is viewed as an outsider in the potential leadership contest, trailing the frontrunners Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss

Who is Tom Tugendhat, the former soldier tipped as a potential successor to Boris Johnson?

Tom Tugendhat is a former soldier who as a Tory MP has become one of the most vocal critics of the Government. 

The 48-year-old, who is the son of a high court judge and the nephew of a Tory peer, was first elected as the MP for Tonbridge and Malling in 2015 after a lengthy career in the Armed Forces. 

The married father-of-two served in both Iraq and Afghanistan before leaving the military in July 2013.

He was a member of the Territorial Army when the Iraq War broke out in 2003 and he was mobilised as an Arabic-speaking intelligence officer to serve with the Royal Marines. 

He went into Iraq as part of Operation TELIC - the initial invasion.  

After the war he returned to a job in the City of London but then went back to Iraq to help with the economic reconstruction of the country. 

In 2006 the Foreign Office then asked Mr Tugendhat to go to Afghanistan to help grow its national security council. The Tory MP can speak Arabic, Dari and French.  

He then served as an adviser to one of the council members when they became governor of Helmand Province, setting up the 'first non-warlord administration in Helmand since the Soviet invasion'.

Mr Tugendhat spent two years in total in Afghanistan before returning to the UK, but his former Royal Marines unit then deployed to Helmand and he agreed to go back with them. 

He served operationally for two more years before coming off his final patrol in July 2009. He received an MBE in recognition of his service.  

Mr Tugendhat then served as military assistant and principal adviser to the chief of the defence staff before entering Parliament in 2015. He is still a reserve officer. 

The Tory MP was applauded in the House of Commons during a debate on the UK's exit from Afghanistan in August 2021 as he detailed his experience in the country. 

He told a silent chamber: 'Like many veterans, this last week has seen me struggle through anger, grief and rage—through the feeling of abandonment of not just a country, but the sacrifice that my friends made.

'I have been to funerals from Poole to Dunblane. I have watched good men go into the earth, taking with them a part of me and a part of all of us. This week has torn open some of those wounds, has left them raw and left us all hurting.'  

As well as criticising the Government over the exit from Afghanistan, Mr Tugendhat has also been vocal in urging ministers to take a tougher approach to dealing with China over human rights abuses. 

In Parliament, Mr Tugendhat has never served as a minister but he has been the chairman of the powerful Foreign Affairs Select Committee since 2017. 

He grew up in London and in Kent before studying theology at Bristol University. 

He later studied for a master's degree in Islamics at Cambridge University and after graduating he worked as a journalist in Beirut. He returned to the UK and worked as a management consultant before working in the City. That was when he joined the Territorial Army. 

Mr Tugendhat's father is Sir Michael Tugendhat who is a retired High Court judge. His uncle, Lord Christopher Tugendhat, is a former Conservative MP. 

Mr Tugendhat's wife, Anissia Morel, is a French supreme court judge.     

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Mr Tugendhat, who is married with two children, has previously made clear that he would fancy a tilt at the top job, saying in 2017 that it would be 'great to be PM'.

He is viewed in Westminster as a potential leadership candidate who centrist and moderate Tory MPs could swing in behind. 

A former Cabinet minister told The Guardian: 'Tom would be my first choice. 

'I think a lot of people think he would be the best chance for a fresh start with someone who has a lot of relevant experience and deep thinking.'

One senior Conservative MP told the newspaper it would be 'a relief, by all accounts, to have someone like that in the job'. 

A serving minister backed Mr Tugendhat to run for the leadership but warned Tory MPs would likely need to be persuaded that he has domestic policy ideas.

They said he would 'need to convince other colleagues he's got any sort of domestic policy ideas whatsoever' because MPs already know 'what he thinks about China or Afghanistan'. 

Mr Tugendhat and Mr Johnson have a somewhat strained relationship, with the pair having repeatedly clashed during select committee hearings. 

Some of Mr Johnson's allies are critical of Mr Tugendhat because of his pointed criticism of the Government, most recently over its handling of the exit from Afghanistan. 

Reports recently claimed that Chief Whip Mark Spencer had dubbed the senior Tory MP 'Tom Tugentw*t'. 

Mr Tugendhat has been the MP for Tonbridge and Malling in Kent since 2015, joining Parliament after a long military career which saw him serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was asked in 2017 if he wanted to be PM and he replied: 'Of course. I bought a ticket so why wouldn't I want to win the lottery?' 

In a separate interview published in October 2017, he said: 'Would it be great to be PM? Yep, it would be. Would it be great to be Foreign Secretary? Fantastic.

'Would it be great to be Defence Secretary? Wonderful. Would it be great to be a minister of any kind? Yes, because all of those opportunities to serve are very much winning a lottery in what is frankly a fantastic opportunity to serve our country in a different way.'

Mr Tugendhat has become one of the most vocal critics of the Government during his time in Parliament, particularly on the issues of China and Afghanistan. 

He repeatedly blasted the Government's handling of the UK's exit from Kabul last year. 

In October 2021 he slammed senior civil servants and ministers for going on holiday during the Afghanistan crisis. 

And in August he had also turned his fire on the US administration as he said of the exit: 'This is what defeat looks like.' 

He was applauded in the same month in the House of Commons after delivering an emotive speech in which he recalled his own experiences in the country.  

He said at the time that he had struggled through 'anger, grief and rage' over the withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

He told a silent chamber: 'Like many veterans, this last week has seen me struggle through anger, grief and rage—through the feeling of abandonment of not just a country, but the sacrifice that my friends made.

'I have been to funerals from Poole to Dunblane. 

'I have watched good men go into the earth, taking with them a part of me and a part of all of us. 

'This week has torn open some of those wounds, has left them raw and left us all hurting.' 

Mr Tugendhat has repeatedly urged the UK Government to take a tougher stance on China over human rights abuses.

He co-founded the China Research Group of MPs in April 2020 to 'promote debate and fresh thinking about how Britain should respond to the rise of China'.   

Some Conservative MPs believe the current chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee would be well suited to the role and represents the 'best chance for a fresh start'

Some Conservative MPs believe the current chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee would be well suited to the role and represents the 'best chance for a fresh start'

He was one of nine UK individuals to be hit with personal sanctions by Beijing last year as the regime hit back over criticism. 

He and his committee had repeatedly called on the Government to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing which are due to be held in February this year. 

The UK announced a diplomatic boycott of the games in December last year after months of mounting pressure.

Liz TrussTom TugendhatConservatives

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