THE online Conservative Party conference broke down this afternoon as members tried to log in to see Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove speak.

The website crashed for members, showing an error message reading “conference.conservatives.com – Host Error” instead of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The party was not immediately aware of the issue but across social media viewers complained of the problem.

Unlike the Labour and LibDem conferences, the Tories relied on an elaborate 3D virtual event rather than politicians delivering speeches into cameras.

The Tory conference has a computed-generated auditorium for keynote speeches, a foyer and fringe meeting spaces.

The glitch was fixed within about half an hour and viewers were able to see the end of Gove’s event.