Portillo fights back

Michael Portillo, Secretary of State for Defence, continued the strife within the Tory party when he claimed that a "campaign had been whipped up" against him over his attacks on the defecting MP Emma Nicholson.

Mr Portillo defended his position in the party just 24 hours after John Major had warned Tories to unite or risk defeat in the next general election. "The fact of the matter is that [she] did show disloyalty to two prime ministers in a row," he said.