• Sir Robert Buckland is the first cabinet minister to switch sides in the Tory leadership election.
• He had previously supported Rishi Sunak, but has now backed Liz Truss.
• Sir Robert was fired from Boris Johnson’s cabinet earlier this year, only to be reinstated when he agreed to step down.

Sir Robert Buckland is the first cabinet minister to switch sides in the Conservative Party leadership election.

Liz Truss has gained the support of the Secretary of State for Wales, who previously supported Rishi Sunak.

Sir Robert writes in The Daily Telegraph that changing his views was “not an easy thing to do.”

He cites her economic policies and the reforming of the Human Rights Act as reasons for his support for the foreign secretary.

Ms Truss’s change of heart comes while she remains the favourite to be the next Prime Minister.

Sir Robert, who demanded that Boris Johnson resign as Prime Minister before joining his cabinet, wrote: “I started with ideas and ideals and then moved on to people. During the parliamentary rounds, I supported Rishi Sunak because I felt he embodied what we needed at the time.”

Mr Sunak was the frontrunner in the parliamentary round, but he did not have the same level of support among Tory members.

“As the campaign has moved on, and as I have listened carefully to both candidates, I have thought deeply about the issues that move me and what I want to see the next prime minister doing,” Sir Robert added.

“Changing your mind on an issue like this is not an easy thing to do, but I have decided that Liz Truss is the right person to take our country forward.”

Sir Robert was fired from Mr Johnson’s cabinet earlier this year, only to be reinstated when the prime minister agreed to step down.

Meanwhile, Dominic Raab, a Sunak loyalist and cabinet member, spoke to The Times about his support for the former chancellor.

He responds to attacks levelled at his favoured candidate for allegedly causing Mr Johnson’s demise while plotting his own run for the presidency.

Mr Raab said: “Anyone who thinks Rishi stabbed Boris in the back is kidding themselves.

“Liz was doing lots of groundwork with her Fizz for Liz – dinners with MPs – for months on end. Rishi worked very hard to make the relationship with the prime minister work, he’s explained why in the end he couldn’t stay.

“I’m saying that as someone who was staunchly loyal to the PM.”

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