Duncan gibe sparks hunt for Tory 'moralising wing'

The hunt is on for the "Taliban tendency" within the ranks of Tory MPs after the outspoken frontbencher Alan Duncan attacked his party's "moralising wing".

Michael Howard, the Tory leader, was forced to deny that there were "Tory Taliban" in the ranks and ticked off his shadow Transport Secretary for making such a suggestion. He said: "I am surprised that he believes it, because I don't believe it to be true. I don't believe that we are censorious about people's lifestyles. I think we have moved on and I think we accept that, so Alan's remarks surprised me."

Mr Duncan was not naming names. But a guessing game was under way in the Commons tearoom, where speculation among his fellow modernisers centred on right-wing Tories including Laurence Robertson, John Hayes and Gerald Howarth.

Mr Duncan, who said he would not contest the Tory leadership election due to lack of support, said: "Our Achilles' heel has been our social attitude.

"Censorious judgmentalism, which treats half our countrymen as enemies, must be rooted out."