AMN / WEB DESK
Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt has confirmed that she is standing in the Conservative leadership contest to replace Liz Truss as prime minister. Mordaunt is the first candidate to officially enter the race.
Meanwhile, ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak has gained the backing of over 80 MPs – although he is yet to officially declare as a candidate. Former Boris Johnson has the support of cabinet ministers Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Alok Sharma and Simon Clark.
Johnson also has yet to officially say he’s running – but one MP says the ex-PM is flying back from his Caribbean holiday to join the contest. Leadership hopefuls have until 14:00 on Monday to gather the support of 100 MPs, with a new PM declared by Friday Labour and other opposition parties have called for an immediate general election