Dominic Raab knocked out of Tory leadership race
Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson continues to lead the field with 126 votes among MPs.
Boris Johnson, who has committed to leaving the European Union on October 31 with or without a deal, continued to lead the field, securing more support and the backing of 126 MPs. His tally was 12 more than the 114 he secured in last week’s ballot.
His main challenger in second place is Jeremy Hunt, who received the support of 46 MPs.
Tory MPs will hold further votes tomorrow and Thursday to whittle down the candidates until two remain. They will be put to the 160,000-strong Conservative Party membership for a final decision, which is due to be announced in the week commencing July 22.
The candidates were required to secure the backing of 33 Tory MPs to make it to the next round. In the subsequent rounds it will be the candidate with the least support who is eliminated.
The results for the other candidates were Michael Gove 41 votes; Rory Stewart 37 votes; Sajid Javid 33 votes; and Dominic Raab 30 votes.
