11 of the strangest moments from the launch day the Tory leadership contest

Now that Theresa May is no longer the Tory leader but is still acting as prime minister, we've got a whole summer to look forward to of candidates telling us why they should be the country's next leader.

11 MPs are believed to be in contention for the role, with campaigns and votes set to play out over the next few weeks, with the successful candidate set to be announced on July 22.

Today has seen the likes of Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock and Esther McVey launch their campaign with speeches outlining their intentions for the nation, should they win the contest.

However, in true British political form, it has been far from a quiet day, with many, many bizarre and embarrassing incidents happening to the majority of candidates.

We'll start with the woman who has arguably made the most headlines Esther McVey:

1. Lorraine Kelly throws some shade

Even before McVey had unveiled her campaign she had found herself at the centre of all the attention but for the wrong reason.

During a segment on Good Morning Britain, which the MP appeared on host Susanna Reid asked Lorraine Kelly if she remembered working with McVey on GMTV.

The Scottish presenter's answer was short and to the point...

2. Margaret Thatcher makes a surprise return

Of all the former prime ministers that we expected to see today, Margaret Thatcher was definitely the last one on our list.

However, McVey was joined on stage with a picture of the so-called 'Iron Lady' as she launched her campaign and people were a little confused.

3. McVey interrupted by an angry protestor

Fortunately for McVey and Thatcher they weren't alone on stage for too long as a furious protestor, who claimed to be a member of the Conservative party stormed the stage at the Bruges Group in London, ranting about 'fake news.'

Let's just say that McVey has probably already had enough of campaigning and the first day isn't even over yet.

4. Jeremy Hunt's name mispronounced on BBC News

It really must be hard being Jeremy Hunt, not only are you possibly the most despised health secretary ever but people just can't seem to say your name right.

In an unfortunate slip-of-the-tongue on BBC News this morning, host Victoria Derbyshire accidentally dropped the c-bomb when pronouncing Hunt's name and sent the internet into meltdown.

5. 'Abolish illiterashy'

Things really weren't going Hunt's way on Monday either, as even his own speech let him down when launching his campaign.

When trying to announce his intentions to 'abolish illiteracy' he ended up saying something completely different and the jokes wrote themselves.

6. 'Where's my wife?'

There was also this super awkward moment after Penny Mourdant announced her endorsement of Hunt and gave him a quick kiss, which sent Hunt scrambling to find his wife.

7. 'A buccaneering approach'

Next, we have everyone's failed Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab who also wants to be prime minister and by the sounds of it has ambitions of raising the jolly roger above Downing Street.

During his campaign launch, the 45-year-old, who didn't realise that Britain was an island, said that he intends to have 'a buccaneering approach' to global trade after Brexit kicks in.

As you can imagine, there were one or two pirate-themed jokes.

8. Brexit has 'humiliated' Britain

Raab really wasn't doing himself any favours with his speech today and claimed that Brexit 'humiliated Britain as a country' during the negotiations with the EU.

Perhaps he had forgotten that he was one of the chief negotiators during the period or something like that? Fear not as the internet was more than happy to remind Raab of his previous role.

9. Literally anything Matt Hancock said in his speech

The current health secretary hasn't earned many headlines today which is probably because the media didn't know where to start with his speech.

Nearly everything he said was pure gold as if taken straight from the mouth of Alan Patridge. Here are 5 of his finest moments from today's launch.

Oh and he was also handing out stroopwaffles before the talk began...

10. Michael Gove's piece of paper

Michael Gove also launched his campaign for the leadership and while he didn't make any gaffes or saying anything ridiculous he did walk around the stage holding a rolled up piece of paper in his hand and anyone who would have kept track of the news over the weekend would have known that probably wasn't the best idea he's ever had.

11. Sajid Javid

Spare a thought for the home secretary (actually maybe, not), Sajid Javid who appears to have seen a bleak vision of his future this morning and to be honest, we're a little concerned about him.

I think we can safely say now that it's going to be another long summer in British politics...

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