Prime Minister hopeful Liz Truss addresses Peterborough Conservative members in hustings in the city

Liz Truss was back on the campaign trail in Peterborough today, as she addressed members of the party at a hustings event in the city.

Ms Truss launched her bid to become Prime Minister at Peterborough children’s charity Little Miracles last month, after receiving backing from city MP Paul Bristow.

And she was back in the city today, hosting a hustings event for members of the Conservative Party Association – who will have a vote on whether it is Ms Truss or Rishi Sunak who takes over from Boris Johnson.

Ms Truss spoke on a range of topics – from farming, to the war in Ukraine.

She said: “East Anglia is a fantastically fertile productive part of the country. I'm a Norfolk MP, we produce brilliant food, and we are facing a food crisis. What we need to do, is make sure that our farmers are farming and not form filling, and that our fields are full of crops and livestock and not solar panels, and that is what I would make sure happens.

“We are facing a huge threat from Vladimir Putin, and I believe if he is not stopped in Ukraine, he will go further. into the Baltic states and into Eastern Europe. He wants to recreate the Soviet Union. That's why I am proud that we in the United Kingdom were the first European country to send weapons to Ukraine, and as Foreign Secretary I put the toughest sanctions on Russia of any country in the world. But we cannot be complacent.

"That is why we need to increase our defence spending to 3% of GDP, to make sure we are able to defend ourselves and support our armed forces.”

Ms Truss also spoke about illegal immigration, saying she would expand the scheme which sees people arriving in the UK illegally sent to Rwanda.

Peterborough MP Mr Bristow, and leader of the city council cllr Wayne Fitzgerald have both backed Ms Truss’s campaign to become Prime Minister.

However, North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara – whose constituency covers much of the south of the city – has backed Mr Sunak’s bid.

The results of the leadership battle will be announced next month.