Hissing and cheering at first hustings meeting

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Iain Duncan Smith emerged as the narrow winner in the first hustings meeting of the leadership race yesterday.

At a packed meeting in Westminster, the Shadow Defence Secretary received loud applause and cheers for his Eurosceptic views and his rebellion against the Maastricht Treaty.

By contrast, Kenneth Clarke was hissed when he said that he supported Chris Patten's proposals for reform of the police force in Northern Ireland.

The gathering, attended by more than 700 party members, was the first of eight such events organised by Conservative Central Office.

A survey by Channel 4 News at the hustings put Mr Duncan Smith marginally ahead of his rival. Of 192 party members questioned, 84 said they would be voting for the Shadow Defence Secretary while 75 backed Mr Clarke and 33 were undecided.

There were accusations of dirty tricks when anonymous leaflets were handed out carrying a picture of Mr Clarke and Tony Blair sharing a platform. It carried a caption that read "Lest we forget".

The meeting saw both men deliver a 45-minute speech and then take questions separately from the audience, although there was no chance for them to debate with each other.

Mr Duncan Smith won repeated applause for his references to his record in fighting Euro federalism, winning sustained cheers when he recalled he had abstained 47 times and voted 11 times against John Major over Maastricht. He was also cheered when he made a dig at Mr Clarke's decision to appear alongside Tony Blair at the launch of the pro-Europe group, Britain in Europe.

Mr Clarke spent much of his speech defending his stance on Europe and explaining why the issue should be put to one side to allow the party to attack Labour. Stressing that the electorate had proved at the general election that they wanted to focus on health, education and crime, he said: "The public were not wrong. I agree with my fellow citizens."

While Mr Duncan Smith was serious and low-key, Mr Clarke gave a typically blunt and at times jokey performance, relishing the questions he received from Eurosceptics.

When one questioner asked what military experience he had, he replied that he had only ever been a member of his school's Combined Cadet Force. He was praised as a good soldier, but there were "concerns" over his appearance, he said to laughter.