The Conservative leadership contenders last night took part in the only live, head-to-head debate of the race with the issues of Europe and party unity dominating the agenda.
Sitting across a small table during the 55-minute simultaneous broadcast on BBC's Newsnight programme and BBC Radio FiveLive, the former chancellor, Mr Kenneth Clarke and Mr Iain Duncan Smith strongly disagreed over the Single Currency. But they found common ground when they said they "hated" being in Opposition and were determined to drive out a "dreadful" Labour government.
"There is nobody more Eurosceptic than Iain," Mr Clarke said, challenging his rival over British membership of the euro. But Mr Duncan Smith, who said he would "never" vote for the euro but would allow shadow cabinet members to make up their own minds in a referendum, hit back strongly. If the pro-European Mr Clarke was elected leader of a Eurosceptic party, he said, he could not effectively challenge Labour over European policy: "They will raise this every single time and it will break us up over the next four years." Mr Clarke, dismissing earlier reports of allegations against British American Tobacco of involvement in smuggling during his tenure as non-executive deputy chairman, said Labour's director of communications, Mr Alastair Campbell, was responsible for circulating the reports. "I'm flattered Labour want to stop me winning the election," he said.
Earlier, the former prime minister, Mr John Major, gave his backing to Mr Clarke declaring he was the best candidate to ensure the Conservatives got back into power.
"I think above all Ken Clarke will attract those non-aligned voters at the centre of politics without whom the Conservative Party cannot regain power. And I do think the purpose of the Conservative Party is to get back into government, not to return to its wounds," he told BBC R4's Today programme. Mr Major also used the opportunity to settle old political scores against Mr Duncan Smith and his predecessor, Baroness Thatcher.
Accusing Mr Duncan Smith of disloyalty, he said that on crucial votes on the Maastricht Treaty, the MP had voted "night after night" with Labour to defeat the government he was elected to serve.
"I think if, as leader, he asked the people to support him in a policy that they were uneasy about, I think he would be in a very difficult position in doing that credibly," he said.
And in a bitter attack on Baroness Thatcher, Mr Major said even after she left office she and her supporters caused "unprecedented and immense" damage by consistently encouraging young MPs to vote against the party line. The Eurosceptic Daily Mail has come out in support of Mr Clarke, with the Sun, Daily Telegraph and London Times supporting Mr Duncan Smith.