TORY leadership hopeful Liz Truss has won the support of three MSPs in the last 24 hours. 

Oliver Mundell, Sharon Dowey and Douglas Lumsden have all thrown their weight behind the Foreign Secretary. 

Ms Truss is still behind her rival in the contest. By the end of last week, Rishi Sunak had been endorsed by seven MSPs, including former Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw and constitution spokesman Donald Cameron.

Mr Lumsden, who represents the North East in Holyrood, said he was backing Ms Truss as she “cares passionately about the Union” and “understands the value of the energy industry.”

Ms Dowey, who is the MSP for South Scotland and Shadow Minister for Culture, Europe and ID, simply said she was backing Ms Truss “after careful consideration.”

There’s speculation more of the Holyrood group could soon back Ms Truss. It is understood she will be in Scotland next week to meet with party members and prospective backers. 

There was also some criticism of the Chancellor from MSPs after Monday night’s BBC debate on the BBC, where he interrupted his opponent on numerous occasions. 

Rachael Hamilton, who last week told The Herald she was undecided, took to Twitter to describe Mr Sunak as “infuriating.”

However, Ms Truss was criticised by influential former Tory MSP Adam Tomkins. 

Writing in The Herald, the constitutional law professor said she was without substance. He said: "Despite being a former Remainer (indeed, she is a former Lib Dem!), she is preferred by the right wing of the Tory party because they think they will be able to run and control her.

"She will be a puppet prime minister, on strings pulled by the most wild-eyed of the lunatic fringe. I hope to God I’m wrong."

READ MORE: Adam Tomkins: Truss will be a puppet PM, on strings pulled by the most wild-eyed of the lunatic fringe

While the former Chancellor may currently be the favourite among the Holyrood group, it is Ms Truss who is the most popular among the rank and file. 

A snap YouGov poll of 507 following the debate on Monday found that party members believed Truss was the better performer, with 50 per cent saying so to Rishi Sunak’s 39%.

Meanwhile, in his latest pledge, Mr Sunak has committed to remove VAT from domestic energy bills for a year if the price cap – currently just under £2,000 a year for the average home – exceeds £3,000 as is forecast by experts.

However, the policy was criticised by supporters of Ms Truss, who described it as a u-turn. 

Mr Sunak rejected calls in February for a VAT cut to energy bills, telling the Commons “there would be no guarantee that suppliers would pass on the discounts to all customers”.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told Times Radio: “I think he’s under a lot of pressure.

“That’s why we see all these statements: he was the person who said the VAT cut would disproportionately benefit rich families and now he’s saying that a VAT cut on energy bills is the right thing.

“He was saying that tax cuts were a fairytale, now he is proposing an unfunded tax cut.

“There comes a time in campaigns when people are under a lot of pressure, he clearly felt under a lot of pressure in the debate and he wanted to get out on the front foot and interrupt Liz.

“I think that was the wrong look for him, I think that was the wrong action, but I can understand why he did that.”

Asked whether Mr Sunak could win a general election, Mr Kwarteng told LBC radio: “He has flip-flopped and U-turned on this tax issue, which I find somewhat concerning, but he is a capable politician and a very likeable chap.”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, a supporter of Mr Sunak, defended the Mr Sunak’s £4.3 billion policy as sensible.

"In the short term it would be deflationary because people’s costs would reduce, in the medium term it would not have an impact on the consumer prices index,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Mr Shapps denied it was “flip-flop”. He said: “If he hadn’t produced £37 billion of support, about £1,200 to the hardest-up households already – if he hadn’t done any of that and then suddenly did it, then you would have a point.

“But he has, he has been providing all this support, now he is saying: ‘Here’s something that won’t add to inflation that would save every person watching your programme £160 off their energy bills’ – I think that’s worthwhile.”