The revelation was made by LBC radio’s political commentator Theo Usherwood on Nigel Farage’s LBC show just minutes after Rory Stewart was dropped from the competition in a shock twist. Mr Usherwood said: “Team Boris wants to get rid of Michael Gove. And I think we could see that move tomorrow lunchtime.

“This is where tactical voting is going to start in earnest. “So they already got rid of one that they wanted to get rid of which was Rory Stewart. “They now need to target Gove. “And given the numbers involved it doesn’t require that much of a shift given that we can expect some of the Rory Stewart voters to go to Sajid Javid and others will go to Jeremy Hunt.

“We could easily expect it would take seven or eight Boris Johnson supporters to simply go and tick the box for Sajid Javid, with the uplift from a few of Rory Stewart’s supporters. “And he could supplant Michael Gove tomorrow lunchtime in third place. “And if that happens that will be a victory for Boris.

Rory Stewart's hopes of becoming the next prime minister were dashed after his support collapsed in the third round of voting by Tory MPs. The International Development Secretary secured just 27 votes - down 10 from Tuesday's second ballot - as Boris Johnson again took a commanding lead in the race to Number 10. Former foreign secretary Mr Johnson appears assured of being one of the two candidates who will face a vote by 160,000 Tory members to choose the next party leader and prime minister after extending his lead over nearest rival Jeremy Hunt. Mr Johnson received 143 votes, up from 126 on Tuesday, with Mr Hunt on 54, up from 46. Michael Gove was in third place, up 10 from 41 to 51 votes, while Sajid Javid picked up five extra votes to reach 38. </s> Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will battle to become the next Prime Minister after Michael Gove was eliminated from the Tory leadership contest.

In the final round of voting by MPs Mr Gove was narrowly pipped to the post by Mr Hunt, who won two votes more than his rival and his place on the final ballot with Mr Johnson.

The race now enters its final stage before the party selects who will be its next leader and the country’s next Prime Minister.

What has happened so far?

The race to select the next Prime Minister officially launched on 10 June, after Theresa May stood down as Conservative party leader the week earlier.

Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom, Matt Hancock, Esther McVey, Sajid Javid, Rory Stewart and Mark Harper all accrued enough supporters to be able to enter the race.

Mrs Leadsom, Ms McVey and Mr Harper were eliminated in the first ballot after failing to win enough support to meet the threshold required.

And Matt Hancock, who came sixth in the first vote, announced he was standing down and backing Mr Johnson.

In the second ballot, Mr Raab became the next candidate to be eliminated and he also threw his weight behind Mr Johnson.

On Wednesday, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart scored the lowest number of votes in the third ballot and was also knocked out the race.

And Sajid Javid, Home Secretary, became the seventh candidate to exit the contest after winning the fewest votes in the Thursday lunchtime ballot.

What happens now?

Now that there are only two contenders remaining, Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) will begin the membership hustings process for party members to decide between the final two candidates.

Work will be under way immediately and the party will aim for the hustings to take place in all 12 regions of the UK over the course of the next four weeks.

During this time there are more live TV debates planned on BBC and Sky.

The BBC announced plans to hold a Question Time special with Fiona Bruce as well as a one-to-one interview with the final candidates and presenter Andrew Neil.

Sky News also announced plans for a head-to-head leadership debate between the final two in front of an audience of Conservative Party members.

When will we know who is Prime Minister?

During the month of hustings, in which the candidates will seek to persuade party members to back them, the choice will be put to a postal ballot.

This will mean that the entire party membership of 160,000 people will have a vote to decide which candidate they prefer.

The results will be counted and a new leader will be announced during the week beginning 22 July.

After this point, the victor will visit the Queen, who will ask them to form a Government and will formally replace Mrs May as Prime Minister. </s> Boris Johnson's supporters are plotting to 'humiliate' Michael Gove and derail his leadership campaign today.

Mr Gove has never been forgiven for betraying Mr Johnson in the 2016 leadership contest.

And now MPs loyal to Mr Johnson are plotting the environment secretary's downfall, with one Johnson supporter saying they want him 'humiliated,' as reported by The Telegraph.

It comes as Bojo's team have also approached Sajid Javid - who came fourth in the ballot yesterday - to become chancellor, according to allies of the home secretary.

Yesterday, maverick leadership hopeful Rory Stewart was dramatically booted from the contest after coming last with just 27 votes - down from 37 on Monday - leaving four hopefuls left to fight it out.

Mr Johnson picked up support from Dominic Raab, who was evicted in the previous round, to increase his tally again from 126 to 143 - tightening his grip on the keys to Downing Street.

While Hunt came second with 54 votes, Gove came third with 51, and Javid on 38.

Finishing a disappointing fourth, Mr Javid insisted last night he was still in the race to become Prime Minister.

But Mr Johnson's team have already approached the home secretary and offered 'all sorts of jobs up to that of chancellor', if he drops out the race and backs Boris, as reported by The Times.

The remaining candidates not named Johnson are now desperately vying for Rory Stewart's backers, with pressure being put on them to support Mr Hunt to leave Mr Gove isolated.

Johnson supporters are thought to believe that facing Mr Hunt in the final two would be easier than taking on Mr Gove.

Many of Johnson's team have a 'visceral hatred' for the environment secretary and were directly accused by Mr Stewart of dirty tricks yesterday.

Speaking ahead of the vote, he told reporters the former defence secretary Gavin Williamson, who is organising Mr Johnson's campaign, was encouraging Johnson-supporting MPs to lend their votes to other candidates to manipulate the contest in a bid to determine who he would face in the final run-off.

He told reporters: 'There's also the dark arts. Gavin Williamson's proxy votes, which we don't know about.

'There are dark arts in politics and they're done with proxy votes, they're not done with someone saying 'would you please vote for this person'.'

Some Tory MPs last night said they suspected the Johnson camp of lending support to Mr Stewart in Tuesday's vote in order to get rid of Brexiteer rival Dominic Raab. </s> Tory leadership contender Rory Stewart has revealed he is in talks with Environment Secretary Michael Gove about “combining forces” in the battle to be next prime minister.

The International Development Secretary said discussions centred on who would be best placed to challenge Boris Johnson in the run-off between the last two candidates left standing.

Mr Stewart told the BBC: “We are talking about combining forces because it’s clear that Boris is going into the last round.

“And the question is ‘who is best placed to sit on stage with Boris Johnson, and who is best placed to ask the testing questions that need to be asked?'”

Mr Stewart said he and Mr Gove would need to discuss how to get a Brexit deal through, adding: “We would have to agree to compromise and if neither of us were prepared to budge on our analysis of the situation then, of course, we couldn’t combine as a team.”

However, Mr Stewart’s camp made clear that if he did form a pact with Mr Gove, it would be the International Development Secretary who would want to remain in the race.

A campaign spokeswoman said: “Clearly at some point people will need to combine teams.

“But any team that gets combined, Rory wants to lead it. Rory’s in this to win.”

A Gove campaign source said: “We are in it to win it and we would obviously welcome the support of any candidate that wanted to drop out and support us.”

Mr Stewart nearly doubled his backing to 37 votes in Tuesday’s second ballot of Tory MPs, leaving him just four votes behind Mr Gove.

The move came as fellow leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt took a swipe at Mr Johnson’s Brexit stance, insisting his rival has an unclear policy and suggesting he is not trusted in Brussels.

The Foreign Secretary said he was “not entirely sure” what the front-runner in the race to become the next prime minister believes when it comes to when Britain will leave the EU.

In a televised debate on Tuesday evening, Mr Johnson said the October 31 deadline for Brexit must be met, warning that otherwise there would be a “catastrophic loss of confidence in politics”.

But Mr Hunt accused the former foreign secretary of lacking clarity on whether he guaranteed delivering Brexit by the end of October.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Well, I am not entirely sure what he believes on this, having listened to him last night.

“You have to think these things through because prime ministers have to make these judgments.”

Mr Hunt, who came second in the second Tory leadership ballot on Tuesday, also said he was best placed to cut a deal with Brussels on Brexit, saying: “We need a negotiator.”

He said a negotiator has three qualities: “The first is it has to be someone the other side trust, because you don’t do a deal with somebody you don’t trust.

“Secondly, it has got to be someone who doesn’t blink. And thirdly, it has got to be somebody who is prepared to walk away.

“Now, the danger is that if we choose the wrong person now, we will have no trust, no negotiation, no deal, and possibly, if we have an election, no Brexit.”

Another candidate will face the axe on Wednesday afternoon – with Mr Johnson, Mr Hunt, Mr Gove, Mr Stewart and Sajid Javid battling it out for the top job.

The first debate on Tuesday night is unlikely to have swayed many MPs’ minds, ending with no clear winner after a fractious debate taking in Brexit, Islamophobia and climate change.

However, Mr Gove claimed he “won the debate” on BBC Newsnight, “because I had the most detailed answers and I have a clear plan to how we can deliver Brexit and make sure we get all the benefits of life outside the European Union”.

As the candidate who currently has the fewest number of backers, there are rumours Mr Javid could drop out, but supporter Stephen Crabb told the BBC his favoured candidate had performed well in the debates and was not about to quit.

“Did Sajid Javid look like a man who’s about to throw in the towel or about to be knocked out of the contest?” Mr Crabb said.

“He fought tonight, I thought he gave – in a difficult format – he gave a good display of what he can offer the country.”

During the BBC debate, Mr Johnson’s rivals had rounded on him over his ambition to give people earning more than £50,000 a tax cut.

Just hours after winning the second round of voting among Tory MPs – which saw Mr Raab eliminated – Mr Johnson faced his opponents in a TV studio for the first time, having ducked the previous televised debate.

He came under fire for his tax plans, and was also taken to task over his comments comparing veiled Muslim women to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”. </s> British Conservative party leadership and prime minister contender Boris Johnson leaves his home in south London, Thursday June 20, 2019. The race to become Britain’s next prime minister is down to the final four on Wednesday, as Boris Johnson stretched his lead among Conservative lawmakers and upstart Rory Stewart was eliminated from the contest. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on choosing Britain’s next prime minister (all times local):

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will compete to become Britain’s next prime minister in a runoff vote by members of the governing Conservative Party.

Johnson, a former U.K. foreign secretary, and Hunt, who holds that office now, are the last candidates standing after a series of elimination votes by Conservative lawmakers. Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Michael Gove were culled from the race on Thursday.

Johnson got 160 of the votes cast by 313 Tory lawmakers in the final round, and is strong favorite to win the ballot of some 160,000 party members.

Hunt, who got 77 votes, will seek to halt Johnson’s momentum by picking away at Johnson’s plans for Brexit as the two speak to meetings of party members across the country.

The winner is due to be announced in late July, and will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister.

The contest to become Britain’s next prime minister is down to its final three candidates, with Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt chasing front-runner Boris Johnson for a spot in a deciding runoff.

Johnson gained 157 of 313 votes cast by Conservative lawmakers Thursday in their fourth round of voting. Gove received 61, leapfrogging Hunt, who has been in second place until now but got 59.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid came fourth with 34 votes and drops out.

A second vote Thursday will select the final two contenders, who will go to a by-mail ballot of all 160,000 Conservative Party members nationwide.

The winner is due to be announced in late July, and will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister.

Britain’s governing Conservatives were set to pick two candidates who will square off to become the country’s next prime minister.

Tory lawmakers will vote to eliminate two contenders from a four-strong field that includes ex-foreign minister and London mayor Boris Johnson, current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

Johnson has a commanding lead after three rounds of voting that cut the list from an initial 10 contenders. The three others are battling to join him in a runoff to be decided by 160,000 Conservative Party members nationwide.

All the candidates are vowing to lead Britain out of the European Union, a challenge that defeated outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. She quit as Conservative leader earlier this month after failing to win Parliament’s backing for her Brexit deal.

The winner of the contest, due to be announced the week of July 22, will become Conservative leader and prime minister.

Follow AP’s full coverage of Brexit and the Conservative Party leadership race at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit </s> Rory Stewart said he was “never confident” but “always hopeful” as he battled to remain in the contest to be the next prime minister.

As Tory MPs vote for the second time, candidates need to secure 33 votes to survive, and Mr Stewart said he believed he had that number “if everybody does what they say”.

International Development Secretary Mr Stewart, who managed just 19 votes last week, and Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who got 23, were locked in a fight to reach the threshold.

Mr Javid said he was “quietly confident” of making it through, adding that he was “looking forward to the debate this evening” – the remaining candidates will appear on the BBC at 8pm.

The Home Secretary, the state educated son of a bus driver, urged colleagues to back him to prevent the contest looking like “a debate at the Oxford Union”.

Mr Javid, the only candidate left in the race not to have gone to Oxford University, said it would not be “healthy” for the party if all the candidates left in the contest had similar backgrounds.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If we end up in a situation where the final two, three, four even, are people from similar backgrounds with similar life experiences, it will look like a debate at the Oxford Union and I just don’t think that’s healthy for the Tory Party.”

The Home Secretary joked that his style was “less Homer’s Iliad and more Homer Simpson”.

In a sign that the contest is becoming more personal, a former aide to Mr Javid claimed Mr Stewart’s supporters were targeting the Home Secretary’s backers “urging them to vote for Rory so we can offer ‘something different’ in final two”.

Further votes on Wednesday and Thursday will see two candidates selected for the final ballot of Tory members, with frontrunner Boris Johnson almost certain to be one of them.

On Twitter, Mr Javid’s ex-special adviser Nick King added: “Saj’s dad was an immigrant. Saj went to his local comp and an FE College. Rory went to Eton and Balliol just like Boris.”

Mr Stewart, who has been forced to deny allegations that he had been a spy for MI6, suggested the claims about his background were the result of a rival “getting a bit rattled”.

His campaign has gathered momentum and won the backing of de facto deputy prime minister David Lidington, but he faces a difficult task to overhaul the vote tallies of rivals.

Mr Johnson, the clear winner in the first round of voting, will face his first televised showdown of the campaign when he appears at the BBC debate later.

He has secured even more pledges of support – including former leadership rival Andrea Leadsom – since winning 114 votes last week.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Environment Secretary Michael Gove were the only other candidates to secure more than 33 votes in the first round.

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, who got 27 votes, said he too was now “quietly” confident of reaching 33.

In a new campaign video, Mr Raab said his love of karate and boxing had “been pretty good in terms of preparing me for other big moments”.

He highlighted the importance of education, saying “everyone should have the opportunity to go as far as their talents can take them”.

Mrs Leadsom gave her backing to Mr Johnson on Tuesday morning, telling LBC he was the “best placed to get us out of the EU at the end of October” and an “election winner”.

Meanwhile, Mr Gove, who came third in the first ballot with 37 votes, used a Times article to say the final two candidates should “believe in Brexit” and be able to deliver it and unite the Tory party.

In an apparent reference to Mr Johnson and Mr Stewart, he said: “It would be a mistake to put forward two candidates to the final round who will polarise our party.” </s> The Latest: UK prime minister pool cut to 4, Johnson at top

LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Conservative Party voting to pick Britain's next prime minister (all times local):

The contest to become Britain's next prime minister is down to four candidates, with Boris Johnson building on his commanding lead in a Conservative Party vote.

Johnson gained 143 of 313 votes cast by Conservative lawmakers Wednesday in their third round of voting.

He's being chased by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, a longshot candidate who energized the race, received the fewest votes and drops out.

Two more votes are scheduled for Thursday to whittle the field down to two. The final two contenders will go to a by-mail ballot of all 160,000 Conservative Party members nationwide.

The winner is due to be announced in late July, and will replace Theresa May as party leader and prime minister.

Britain's Conservative Party is set to kick one more candidate out of the contest to become the country's next prime minister, as rivals scramble to catch front-runner Boris Johnson.

The five-strong field will be narrowed in elimination votes by Tory lawmakers Wednesday and Thursday, with the two top candidates going to a runoff of party members across the country.

One of the remaining candidates, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, says he is talking to Environment Secretary Michael Gove about combining forces. He says the question is "who is best able to politely and respectfully defeat Boris Johnson."

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid are also in the race.

The winner, due to be announced in late July, will replace Theresa May as Conservative leader and prime minister.

Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit and the Conservative Party leadership race at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit </s> Image copyright PA Image caption Channel 4 set up an empty podium for Boris Johnson, who declined to take part in the debate

Contenders to replace Theresa May as Conservative leader have clashed over delivering Brexit during a TV debate.

The MPs argued over whether a new deal could be renegotiated with the EU, and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

Boris Johnson came under fire for not taking part in the Channel 4 debate but defended his stance, suggesting it would "be slightly cacophonous".

His leadership bid has been backed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who dropped out of the race on Friday.

Some of the sharpest exchanges came over whether Parliament should be shut down - prorogued - in order to push through a no-deal Brexit by 31 October - something four of the five candidates argued against.

The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March, but EU leaders agreed to delay the date to October after MPs repeatedly rejected Theresa May's Brexit deal.

International Development Secretary Rory Stewart said proroguing Parliament was a "deeply disturbing" option and Home Secretary Sajid Javid warned "you don't deliver democracy by trashing our democracy".

However ex-Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab refused to rule it out, saying "every time one of these candidates take an option away… we weaken our chances of getting the best deal."

Channel 4's debate attracted an audience of 1.3 million and 7.8% of the audience share. The programme was up against Soccer Aid on ITV, Countryfile on BBC One and Top Gear on BBC Two.

Who won the debate?

Analysis by BBC political correspondent Ben Wright

No stand-out winner and a debate that won't trouble the absent front-runner Boris Johnson.

His team thought there was nothing to be gained from pitching up for this blue-on-blue skirmish which was mostly good natured but repeatedly raised questions the candidates struggled to answer.

How can the next prime minister renegotiate a deal with the EU? How can it be done by October? How could the UK leave without a deal if MPs refuse?

At one end of the debate, Dominic Raab was rounded on for saying he would be prepared to try and suspend parliament if it was the only way to get the UK out without a deal at the end of October.

In the opposite corner, Rory Stewart was the only one who said a renegotiation with the EU in the next four months was a fantasy promise.

At some point this week one of the five will break out and become the challenger to Boris Johnson for the ballot of Tory members.

No-deal Brexit?

The candidates at the debate before a studio audience in east London also argued over whether a no-deal Brexit should be considered.

Mr Javid said no deal was the "last thing" he wanted, but added: "You do plan for no deal precisely because you want a deal."

Mr Raab said Britain would be able to "manage those risks" associated with leaving the EU without a deal.

However, Mr Stewart said "I think a no-deal Brexit is a complete nonsense," adding "it would be deeply damaging for our economy."

The candidates were united in condemnation of the Labour leader with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt accusing Jeremy Corbyn of being "against aspiration".

Environment Secretary Michael Gove argued that he was the candidate Mr Corbyn would be most scared of facing at Prime Minister's Questions.

The UK's next prime minister

'Where's Boris?'

Mr Johnson, the front-runner in the leadership race, was represented at the debate by an empty lectern.

And Mr Hunt attacked his failure to appear.

"Where's Boris?" he asked, adding "if his team won't allow him out with five fairly friendly colleagues, how is he going to deal with 27 European countries?"

Mr Stewart also made a pointed dig at his absent colleague, saying he hoped "one of us" - referring to the MPs who had attended the debate - becomes prime minister.

Speaking to Radio 4's World at One on Friday, Mr Johnson said he was "pretty bewildered" by claims he was dodging scrutiny and said the public had had "quite a lot of blue-on-blue action, frankly, over the last three years".

He said the best time to take part was on Tuesday after the second ballot and would be at the BBC debate on Tuesday, hosted by Emily Maitlis.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Michael Gove tells Today says he'll be a "unifying figure"

Health Secretary Matt Hancock - who withdrew from the leadership race after the first ballot - has backed Mr Johnson "as the best candidate to unite the Conservative Party" as has Esther McVey, who was eliminated in the first round.

Writing in the Times, Mr Hancock said Mr Johnson had a "unique personality", adding: "I have confidence Boris will be a One Nation prime minister because that's how he ran London - consistently - for eight years."

Mr Gove told BBC Radio 4's Today he was "naturally disappointed" that Mr Hancock had chosen to endorse his rival rather than himself.

While Mr Johnson remained the frontrunner, Mr Gove said "we need to make sure he is tested" and he believed he could make it to the final two as a "strong alternative" who was equipped to "be prime minister from day one".

Brexit Immigration Tax Spending Health and social care Education

The TV debate also saw politicians being asked about their priorities apart from Brexit.

Mr Javid chose funding education and further education colleges, saying: "We have cut back too much in that space."

Mr Raab said he wanted to improve state schools and offer more choices for young apprenticeships, while Mr Gove said children would be his top priority and emphasised the importance of protecting the environment for the future.

Mr Hunt told the audience "every Conservative has two desires: cut taxes and spend more on public services." He also said he would focus on literacy and the social care system.

Mr Stewart said his central priority would be fixing adult social care, describing the issue as "the great unfinished revolution".

Biggest weakness?

Asked about their weaknesses, Mr Gove said he was impatient, while Mr Raab said he was "a restless soul" who "always wanted to make things better".

Mr Javid admitted to being stubborn while Mr Stewart said there were "many things he didn't know about the world". However, he added that "we need leaders who listen" and criticised "macho posturing".

Mr Hunt joked that his biggest weakness was "getting my wife's nationality wrong" - but on a more serious note, said in his battle with junior doctors as health secretary, he could have been "better at communicating" what he was trying to do.

The candidates will now go on to take part in further ballots until only two remain.

The final pair will be put to a vote of the 160,000 members of the Conservative Party from 22 June. The winner is expected to be announced about four weeks later. </s> Sajid Javid has become the latest candidate to exit the Conservative party leadership race, with the home secretary coming last in the fourth round of voting by Tory MPs, behind Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt.

With all 313 MPs again casting votes, Mr Johnson was once more the clear winner, on 157 votes, with Mr Gove overtaking Nr Hunt into second place, with 61 votes to 59. Mr Javid was fourth on 34 votes. Two ballots were spoiled.

The focus now shifts to a fifth and final round of votes, in which the final two will be selected, who will be put to a vote of Conservative party members. In effect, this will be a run-off between Mr Gove and Mr Hunt for the right to face Mr Johnson. The result will come at 6pm.

The final two will then undertake a long series of hustings events with party members around the country before the winner takes over from Theresa May as Tory leader and prime minister on July 22nd.

The result is something of a blow for Mr Hunt, with backers of the foreign secretary seeking to immediately rally support for him. Penny Mordaunt, the defence secretary, said Mr Hunt being in the final two would avoid the drama of a new showdown between Mr Johnson and Mr Gove, who fell out over the 2016 leadership battle.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean the best entertainment for journalists, but for people who are going to focus on the issues, the policies, and set out a vision for the party,” she said.

A source in the Hunt camp said: “Boris and Michael are great candidates but we have seen their personal psychodrama before: it’s time to offer the country someone the EU will actually talk to.”

One of the challenges for Mr Johnson will be to convince Tory members he is serious about making Brexit happen on October 31st.

On Thursday Mr Johnson was formally endorsed by London’s Evening Standard, edited by the remain-backing former chancellor George Osborne, with an editorial in the newspaper predicting that Mr Johnson would end up persuading the Commons to “vote for a repacked version of the existing deal”.

In a verdict unlikely to go down well among hard Brexiters – or Mr Johnson’s camp – the editorial noted that he had pointedly not completely guaranteed an exit on October 31st, and was the candidate with the most room to manoeuvre.

Theresa May is travelling to Brussels for a European council summit and will miss the second vote. She has entrusted a proxy vote to Charles Walker, the acting co-chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, which is organising the contest.

During the two-hour voting process, Mr Javid arrived with a series of MPs who have supported him and they posed for a photo in the corridor near committee room 14, where the voting took place. Mr Javid told reporters only that he was “hopeful” of progressing.

His exit from the race follows that of Rory Stewart, the international development minister, in the third round of voting on Wednesday. – Guardian
Boris Johnson leads the second Tory MP leadership ballot. Dominic Raab is eliminated after coming in last. Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Sajid Javid, and Rory Stewart all advance to tomorrow's third round.