Liz Truss rejects plea to bring back Northern Ireland abortion ban in frosty hustings

Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss has rejected a party member’s plea to restore a ban on abortions in Northern Ireland during a frosty hustings event.

Challenging the foreign secretary at the Conservative members’ event in Belfast, one audience member claimed Westminster had “undemocratically and unconstitutionally imposed abortion”.

They went on to ask whether Ms Truss would abolish abortion, or let the people of Northern Ireland decide if she wins the race to succeed Boris Johnson in No 10 next month.

But Ms Truss was applauded by other members as she replied: “I’m afraid I don’t agree with you.

“We are a United Kingdom and we need all of our laws to apply right across the United Kingdom. That is what being a union is”.

In 2019 MPs at Westminster voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of legalising abortion in Northern Ireland at a time when power-sharing talks had failed to restore the devolved executive.

Just last month, the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, said that Stormont’s deparment of health must begin setting up abortion services “within days to weeks”.

Ms Truss also said during Wednesday’s event that she would appoint a Northern Ireland secretary who would be the “absolute best at delivering for the people” of the region.

The remark came into response to one member of the audience asking whether she would appoint another “fly in, fly out political landlord” instead of someone “accountable to the electorate”.

Another Tory member also challenged the wannabe prime minister for over her continued loyalty to the outgoing PM Boris Johnson, who, they said, had “continually lied” to Parliament.

“You have supported a prime minister that has continually lied to the Queen, Parliament and the entire UK therefore does this not bring into question your own personal integrity and honesty”.

But again the foreign secretary said she disagreed, citing Mr Johnson’s efforts on rolling out the Covid vaccine, delivering Brexit, and his support for the Ukranian people during Russia’s brutal invasion.

Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, was also quizzed on the state of the NHS by one Conservative member and former nurse, who said: “How exactly are you going to sort out the NHS issues?

“I’m a former nurse and I’ve seen all the issues first hand. Sunday night there were two emergency psychiatric beds, but they were mattresses on the floor. What are you going to do?”

Mr Sunak, who said the NHS is the country’s “number one priority”, swerved the question, and restated his “radical” policy to fine patients for missing appointments.

“My plan is to get tough on people missing appointments because if we do that, it’s not about making, it’s about changing behaviour in this country so that’s not acceptable,” he added.

Mr Sunak also used the hustings to accuse his rival in the contest of setting up a “moral failure” if she fails to support the most vulnerable Brits through the cost-of-living crisis.

“Liz’s plan is to say ‘well, I believe in tax cuts, not direct support’,” the former cabinet minister claimed.

“I don’t think that’s right because a tax cut for someone on her salary means £1,700 of help. For someone working really hard on a national living wage, in the care sector, that tax cut is worth about a £1 a week. For a pensioner, who is not working, that tax cut is worth precisely zero.

“That’s not a plan that I think is right for our country. If we don’t directly help those vulnerable groups, those on the lowest incomes, those pensioners, then it will be a moral failure of the Conservative government and I don’t think the British people will forgive us for that.”