It's not often that I get to interview someone who's also been personally denounced by Boris

Johnson, but today's my lucky day. I'm joined by podcaster and former Tory MP, Rory Stewart.

We talk about his time on the conservative benches, why Jeremy Corbyn was really kicked out

of the Labour Party and just what are the relationships between the intelligence services

and our elected officials. Rory, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you very much for having me. There aren't many former Tories who'd be brave enough to step

into the VAR HQ. Are you confident in making it out alive?

I think it's... No, you do feel brave. We're here because, as you remember, you and I did a thing

together at the BBC, which ended really with just having a rolling argument on the pavement

went on for about 40 minutes. So I definitely coming quite nervous.

Oh, don't worry. It's going to be, I think, less weird because Lawrence Fox isn't here, so

no one's going to be asking anyone what colour they're underwear is.

I mean, just to get started by talking about the book, I mean, there tend to be like three broad

kinds of political memoirs. I'm getting my skeletons out of the closets. I want to run at high office.

There's, I'm settling old scores and there's, I'm setting myself up for secular

sanctity. I mean, where do you sort of see this one?

Well, so I'm really interested. I've never seen anyone analyze it in those three ways. So you think

it's about kind of getting your dark secrets out or it's like taking revenge on other people or

it's like projecting yourself to the same. I think there are two types of political memoirs. I think

there's the... I'm going to try to defend my record and vindicate myself or I'm preparing myself

for another run. So usually I find the thing with political memoirs is either a really boring

and slightly over-detailed account of the blow-by-blows of some piece of political

...