Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has been criticised for hitting out at Rishi Sunak’s expensive suit after interviews resurfaced where she admitted spending thousands on jewellery and clothes.

Ms Dorries tweeted that Liz Truss, who she is supporting to be Tory leader, will be travelling the UK wearing £4.50 earrings from budget jewellery chain Claire’s Accessories while Rishi Sunak wore a Henry Herbert suit in Teesside worth £3,500 and £450 Prada shoes.

But other MPs and members of the public were unimpressed with her sniping, with Tory Guildford MP Angela Richardson tweeting: “FFS Nadine! Muted.”

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Cabinet Office minister Johnny Mercer said the “puerile nature” of the leadership contest was embarrassing and it was “time to raise standards”.

Members of the public said they did not care how much the candidates spent on their clothes, they just wanted good policies and have had enough with the personal mudslinging.

Interviews with Ms Dorries, who is also a novelist, quickly resurfaced, including one in The Guardian in 2007 when she admitted to owning £6,000 diamond earrings.

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“I will wear cheaper clothes but there are things I will not compromise on, like my £6,000 diamond earrings,” she said.

And in another interview with the Daily Express in 2017, she described doing two big clothes shops a year where she “probably spends over £1,000”.

Asked what the most expensive item in her wardrobe was, Ms Dorries said: “Probably some of my jewellery. I don’t skimp on jewellery. I’ve designed some pieces myself at a bespoke jeweller. I saw some items in the window but I wanted them to look slightly different.”

Ms Dorries was also asked how much she spent on clothes each month.

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She replied: “I buy clothes at the start of each season, rather than monthly, so I do two big hits a year where I probably spend over £1,000. I buy almost everything on the internet, though.

“You need to buy clothes at the beginning of the season when they start coming into store.”

Ms Dorries also revealed she had 20 to 30 pairs of heels all by Stuart Weitzman for Russell and Bromley.

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