BBC's Tory leadership debate won't go ahead as talks collapse

A planned BBC debate between the two Tory leadership candidates won't be going ahead after talks collapsed.

Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick were both invited to appear on a Question Time special next week as they bid to replace Rishi Sunak as Leader of the Opposition.

But, according to the broadcaster, Ms Badenoch's team turned down the invitation as they pointed to strict rules set out for the leadership contest by party bosses.

This includes any live audience for a TV debate being made up of people who have a vote in the contest, which are only Conservative Party members.

The BBC said this would not be 'compliant' with their duties as a public service broadcaster and so failed to reach an agreement for the event to go ahead.

It has also been revealed how party bosses wanted to charge £10 per ticket for the event, which the BBC refused to allow.

It means last night's event on GB News is likely to be the only TV debate between Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick during the Tory leadership election.

Another planned event, to be hosted by The Sun newspaper, is also reported to be off.

The BBC last night confirmed it had not reached an agreement with Tory officials over hosting a leadership debate.

A BBC statement said: 'For this programme to be viable, Conservative Central Office would need to agree that the audience must be compliant with the BBC's duties as a public service broadcaster, which are not the same as for a party event.

'We regret that we have not yet been able to reach agreement on this, as the Leader of the Opposition is an important role with significance outside the Conservative Party.'

In an online article by the BBC's political editor Chris Mason, the broadcaster said that Mr Jenrick was willing to attend the Question Time special, due to be hosted by Fiona Bruce, but Ms Badenoch was not.

A source in Ms Badenoch's campaign pointed to leadership contest rules stating that 'all candidates will be required to agree that they will not participate in any televised hustings between candidates unless arranged by the Party chairman'.

It was separately reported this week that the BBC had rejected a Conservative Party proposal to charge audience members a 'small fee' of £10 per ticket.

A source at Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) told the Telegraph this this technique had a 'marked effect' on reducing the number of no-shows to leadership hustings in the party's 2022 contest between Liz Truss and Mr Sunak.

But the BBC refused to allow it, arguing it would be a breach of practice.

A BBC source said: 'They wanted to charge for attendance but this is wholly against our practice.'

Last night's GB News programme saw Ms Badenoch and Mr Jenrick take questions  from audience members but the rivals did not debate each other directly.

During the programme, Ms Badenoch denied a suggestion she was 'running scared'.

Challenged about a perception Mr Jenrick rival had been more prominent during the Tory contest with regular speeches and TV and radio interviews, Ms Badenoch replied: 'I don't just go on media just for the sake of going on media.

'I go on media when I have something to say. That is how we want this.

'I don't believe anyone thinks that I am scared of scrutiny. I had it every day as an MP and as a minister.'