Conservative MP & Tory The contender for the leadership, Tom Tugendhat, has revealed that he survived a suicide attack while on duty Afghanistan with the British Army.
Mr Tugendhat, who was in the Army Intelligence Corps, claims he saw “disgusting carnage” after the Helmand bombing in 2006 and the remains of his friends scattered around the area.
The 49-year-old, who has been Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling since 2015, said he went back to work in the same office the next day despite the tragedy.
Mr Tugendhat said the horrific attack, which was one of two bombings he survived in the country, made him realize “appearing” was a key element of leadership.
He revealed the dramatic story as he ran to become the UK’s next Prime Minister in a hotly contested Conservative leadership race to replace Boris Johnson.
And although he’s currently fifth in the race for the lead, the backbencher proved popular with viewers tuning in to last night’s televised leadership debate – he even went as far as Harry Potter character Albus Quoting Dumbledore in answer to a question.
Tom Tugendhat, pictured here during the Conservative Leadership televised debate last night, says he survived a terrorist attack in Afghanistan in 2006
Mr Tugendhat, pictured here during his time in the army, said he works in an office building that was destroyed in an explosion by a suicide bomber
Speaking of telegraph Mr Tugendhat said yesterday that despite the horror of what he saw in Afghanistan, he had learned some important lessons in the army, including that “it’s not about you”.
The attack itself took place on December 13, 2006, when the bomber entered the compound of regional governor Mohammed Daud and detonated an explosive device, killing 10 people.
Mr Tugendhat, who was working in a building at the time, said he had been faced with the reality that some of his friends had died but had to face the fact that he would be needed back at work the next day.
He told the newspaper: “Of course a lot of people are scared and nervous [after the attack] and part of the leadership shows up.
“Part of leadership is making arguments, part of leadership is just getting the best out of people. It’s all about this.’
Mr Tugendhat is currently running for Prime Minister in the Conservative leadership contest. Here he is pictured at BT Studios last night before the debate
As well as surviving two suicide bombings in the country, Mr Tugendhat was wounded in a friendly fire incident in Iraq, adding that “you try to get through the painful moments”.
He added that he had hoped to have learned from some of the leaders he had served under during his time in the Army, including General Lord David Richards, the former Chief of Defense Staff.
Mr Tugendhat said: “When you build a team you have to make sure there are people in it who are telling you that you are wrong and that you should think about things differently.
“They are risking their place on the team for the effectiveness of a better outcome that you could take badly and throw them out of the group. That’s a damn good thing, and those are the people you should appreciate.
Mr Tugendhat, who chairs the Special Committee on Foreign Affairs, is currently last in the remaining Conservative leader candidates running to replace Boris Johnson.
The contender for the leadership, Mr Tugendhat, arrived at Here East Studios in Stratford, east London, with his wife Anissia Tugendhat last night
The former soldier, who is an outspoken critic of Mr Johnson and voted against Brexit, has the support of 32 MPs after two rounds of voting, which will see him eliminated in the next round unless he gains more support from others received by parliamentarians.
However, he proved popular with the general public after his appearance during yesterday’s inaugural televised leadership debate on Channel 4.
He received applause from the audience for being the only contestant to say he didn’t believe Mr Johnson was an honest man, while drawing praise on social media for quoting Harry Potter’s Albus Dumbledore in the debate.
When asked by the hot Krishnan Guru-Murthy why the public should trust him, he quoted the Hogwarts Headmaster as saying: “It’s easy to stand up to your enemies, it’s harder to stand up to your friends. “
He also commended the NHS for the impact it had on his comrades wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan and said he was “eternally grateful”.
“They also gave me two children,” he replied when asked about healthcare by a woman in the audience, before hastily adding, “You personally, of course, didn’t.”
A quick poll conducted by Opinium, a strategic insights agency, also confirmed Mr. Tugendhat as the most impressive performer.
Of more than 1,000 average voters surveyed, 36 percent believed that he had “performed best” in the debate.
When asked if he thought Mr Jonhnson was honest, he was the only candidate who quickly replied “no”.
He spoke while acknowledging that “confidence in politics has collapsed, confidence in our party has collapsed,” adding, “I have held a mirror up to many of our actions and those in our party, those in our leadership positions, asked to ask himself, “Does the public really expect this?”
“Are you serving the people of the UK or are you serving your career? Because that’s the real question tonight. That is the real question for all of us.”
