Iain Duncan Smith needs to "make a compact" with the Tory "big boys", Lord Hurd has said.

Speaking to the GMTV Sunday programme ahead of the Conservative Party conference, the former foreign secretary named former leadership contenders Michael Portillo and Kenneth Clarke as people the party leader should bring back into the fold.

"I think he needs to get in touch with and make a compact with the big boys who are not in the shadow cabinet," he said.

"I mean people like Ken Clarke, Michael Portillo and so on, and make a compact with them and make that public so that - of course they won't agree on everything - but there are certain things they will all criticise the government on."

"There are certain things they will all say the Tory Party stands for, they need to work that out," he added.

"I don't think its good to have people who's name everybody knows and who has a reputation and some strength - I would include Michael Heseltine in that - its not good to have them on the sidelines every now and then saying something that's not helpful to the leadership."

In an interview to be broadcast this weekend, the peer also called for changes to the rules governing party leadership elections.

Under the present regulations - drawn up under William Hague's leadership - the parliamentary party select the two leading candidates, before the final vote is put to the party membership.

Lord Hurd argued that MPs should have the final say over who wins.

"It's very difficult to say to the active people in the constituencies, 'you've had this right but we're going to take this away from you'. But I think most of them would probably now agree that the MPs should have the decisive voice," he said.

"Okay, let it be ratified outside but on the basis that the MPs are the people who actually know the characters, who actually know who's got the force and who hasn't.

"And the MPs are actually going to be - I mean they're a rum lot themselves some of them - but they're actually going to be in the best position to make a choice.

"If they make a totally disastrous choice then the membership should be able to upset it but the supposition should be that they are the ones to choose."