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Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, who is backing Jeremy Hunt, says there is "lots of tactical voting going on now", but she is pleased her man is still in second place.

Questioned whether the final round needs to be between two Brexiteers, she says it needs to be between "two people who are going to deliver Brexit".

Mr Hunt voted Remain in the 2016 referendum, but she says he is a "serious candidate for a serious job".

It would be bad for the party if the final run-off were "very polarised", she adds.

Like in the first round, all 313 Tory MPs took part in the vote, with no rejected ballots.

Boris Johnson - 126

Jeremy Hunt - 46

Michael Gove - 41

Rory Stewart - 37

Sajid Javid - 33

Dominic Raab - 30 - KNOCKED OUT

Last-placed candidate Dominic Raab has been eliminated from the contest, with 30 votes.

Frontrunner Boris Johnson has strengthened his lead in the leadership race, attracting 126 votes from Conservative MPs in the second ballot.

The other contenders - Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart - will all go through to the next round.

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Stephen Crabb, who backs Sajid Javid, says it will be "really tight" but if all the MPs who have pledged their support cast their vote for him, Mr Javid should be "home and dry".

"He genuinely gives the party a chance to turn the page and have a fresh conversation with the country.

"He can connect with people from so many different backgrounds, working class people, people from ethnic minorities."

The Tory Party "went backwards" in 2017 in terms of ethnic minority support and "if that carries on, we’re out of business", Mr Crabb says.

It is an issue for the party that "we keep going back to the same school over and over again for our senior politicians".

While he praises Boris Johnson's record as London Mayor, Mr Crabb says even supporters of Mr Johnson are saying “it’s going to be a hell of a rollercoaster ride”.

He warns that with supporters of both hard and soft Brexit backing Mr Johnson "someone’s going to end up disappointed".

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Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, a Boris Johnson supporter, denies his candidate has been saying different things to different people on Brexit.

He says the policy is clear: Theresa May's withdrawal agreement is "off the table, that’s dead", but Mr Johnson would negotiate a simpler transitional arrangement.

Mr Johnson will also ensure the UK can leave the EU on 31 October "whatever, regardless of the arguments and circumstances", he says.

He also defends Mr Johnson against accusations he has avoided scrutiny, insisting he has faced "brutal questions" from Parliamentary colleagues.

As the contest progresses, "that's when you face the outside world more", Mr Duncan Smith says.

He says criticism of Mr Johnson by fellow MPs is in the "nature of politics" but the question is who will deliver Brexit and win the next election.

"They may have been swearing a lot about him earlier on, but they have to say who is going to lead us to victory?"

Just a reminder for you of how the rest of the evening will shape up:

• The result of the leadership ballot will be announced at around 18:00 BST
• The candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated, as will any others who fail to get at least 33 votes
• Those remaining in contest will take part in a live TV debate at 20:00 BST
• Hosted by Newsnight's Emily Maitlis, you can watch on BBC One and via this page. We'll also be bringing you live commentary, analysis and reaction here
• The questions will come from members of the public - they'll ask them via video link from BBC studios around the country
• Expect Brexit to come up, of course, plus other issues too - public spending, climate change and transport are all likely to be on the list