BBC Breakfast's Sally Nugent slapped down by James Cleverly in fiery Tory leadership clash

BBC Breakfast's Sally Nugent clashed with James Cleverly on BBC Breakfast as he begged her to let him speak.

The 52-year-old presenter was back on the famous red sofa on Tuesday (July 23) alongside Jon Kay and the pair woke up the nation with the latest headlines across the globe.

Nominations for former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's replacement are open on Wendesday (July 24) and Mr Cleverly's name has been circulating around Westminster as one of the potential candidates who could become the next leader of the Conservative Party in November.

Sally kicked off the interview by asking Mr Clevery outright if he will become the next leader of the opposition but he didn't give her a straight answer. The host picked up his response by saying "So that's not a no".

Mr Cleverly laughed and told Sally that he was appearing on the show to discuss Labour's "catastrophic start to the Home Affairs portfolio".

Sally said: "Mr Cleverly, this sounds very much like a pitch to be leader." Mr Cleverly hit back: "No, you're the one asking questions about the leadership and I'm desperately trying to talk about Labours failures in government."

Swiftly moving the conversation on, Sally replied: "Ok, let's talk about what you want to talk about". It comes after Jon was missing from BBC Breakfast on Monday (July 22) morning.

Sally was instead joined on the sofa by Ben Thompson. Many fans expressed their delight at seeing Sally back, while others speculated about Jon’s mysterious absence. One person sadly wrote: "No dad joke Jon this morning." Another chimed in: "Sally looks lovely though."

Jon and Sally usually present BBC Breakfast together Monday to Wednesday and Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt host the show Thursday to Saturday.

The Sunday show is hosted by different presenters on rotation.

BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am