Asked on television whether he agreed that a woman who had been raped by a family member had a right to an abortion, the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is a Catholic, replied: “She would have a right under UK law. That law is not going to change but my personal opinion is life begins at the point of conception.” Under further questioning he said he took the teaching of the Catholic Church “seriously” and regarded it as “authoritative”. 

His remarks caused a storm of comment, most of it hostile. One of the reasons is that Mr Rees-Mogg has been tipped as a future leader of the Tory Party.