Conservative leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has drawn on his military experience as he sets out his pitch for the top job.

The Tonbridge and Malling MP has told the Sunday Times how, while serving in Iraq, he was nearly killed when a British helicopter mistakenly fired on him.

"I'm used to friendly fire," the 49-year-old chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said.

"We were in a very, very small group. We had been fighting a nine, ten-hour running battle. I was shot through the chin and the top of the chest, but that hit the body armour so it was OK."

His unit then called in a helicopter for evacuation, but on arrival it mistook them for the enemy. Mr Tugendhat said if it was not for the gunner's poor aim, he would have been killed.

Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, his first Cabinet-level supporter, told the paper Mr Tugendhat was willing to put himself "in the line of fire, politically".

"Tom has this extraordinary set of characteristics. He’s clever, he’s charming, he’s quick-witted, and he’s absolutely passionate about his country," she said.

"He has the ability to explain. He's a conciliator with a knife in his pocket. If he has to fight, he will fight for what he wants. That’s what we need."

Launching his bid in the Telegraph last week, the former remainer said he would "build on" Boris Johnson's achievements, citing Brexit, the vaccine rollout and Ukraine support.

He said the "full advantages of Brexit are yet to be unleashed", promised lower taxes, pledging to reverse the National Insurance hike and bring down fuel tax.

Elected as an MP in 2015, the former soldier is among a new generation of Conservatives considered to be on the more progressive wing of their party.

In a decade-long stint in the British Army he served during the Iraq War and in Afghanistan. He also served, in a civilian capacity, for the Foreign Office in Afghanistan and helped set up the National Security Council of Afghanistan and the government in Helmand Province.