Theresa May and Ruth Davidson thanked in PM’s conference speech

Boris Johnson paid tribute to his predecessor Theresa May as well as former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson in his address to the Conservative Party conference.

The Prime Minister said delegates were “full of gratitude” to Mrs May and her husband Philip for their “patience” and “forbearance”.

He said the party would continue with her work tackling domestic violence and modern slavery and building on her legacy.

Mr Johnson also thanked Ms Davidson, who resigned in August, for her work on the cause of Conservatism and unionism in Scotland.

The PM had a strained political relationship with the two women, who took a different stance on Brexit to him.

Ms Davidson’s resignation came just a day after the Prime Minister announced his plans to prorogue Parliament – a move subsequently branded “unlawful” by the Supreme Court.

Mrs May was not at conference to hear her successor’s speech.

She chose instead to attend Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons, where she sat next to Tory Remainer rebel Ken Clarke as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stood in for Mr Johnson.

Mrs May appeared to give a wry smile when Mr Raab paid tribute to her work on dealing with human trafficking and violence against women.

A shout of “you stabbed her in the back” could be heard from one opposition MP.