James Cleverly says he has boxes full of Warhammer 40k figurines

James Cleverly has said he has boxes full of Warhammer 40k figurines, in the latest revelation about his wargaming hobby.

The Conservative leadership contender confirmed over the summer long-standing rumours that he is a fan of the tabletop strategy game.

Warhammer 40k, the most popular game of its kind in the world, involves players setting armies of miniature figurines against one another in strategic battles.

Hobbyists also paint the armies of figurines, which consist of different factions vying against one another in a science fiction-dark fantasy setting.

As he vies against fellow Tory former ministers Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick to be the next party leader, Mr Cleverly was asked by a Tory member if it was true he was a fan of the game.

“Yes I am,” he replied.

The former minister said his wife Susie could confirm his hobby, telling the audience: “I have got – Susie will confirm this – I have got boxes, some from my childhood, some from more recently.

“I have got boxes, I have got Dark Angels and Orks.”

“Does that make me cool? No, that doesn’t make me cool,” Mr Cleverly added.

Over the summer, Mr Cleverly posted a photograph of himself on X, formerly Twitter, with two mini figurines he had painted, confirming the long-held rumours he was a fan of Warhammer 40k.

At an earlier fringe event on Monday, Mr Cleverly was asked about his musical preferences, when he was faced with a question about what gets him “cutting shapes on the dancefloor”.

“I love a bit of Jump Around by House of Pain,” he said, adding: “I still love Bootsy Collins, a bit of Bootsy Collins, a bit of Blue Beat and ska, and first gen reggae that I grew up with.”