We're pausing our live coverage for the day now after a busy weekend in the Conservative Party leadership race.

Thanks for following along, you can keep up with the latest developments here.

Today's reporting was brought to you by Jeremy Gahagen, Holly Wallis, Marita Moloney and Jo Couzens.

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We'll be ending our live coverage of the leadership contest shortly. Here's a recap of what's happened today:

• Nine candidates are now vying to be the next leader of the Conservative party: Penny Mordaunt, Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt, Grant Shapps, Nadhim Zahawi, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat, and Rishi Sunak
• We heard more detail today about MPs' campaigns, with taxation fast becoming the crux of this contest, as well as the economy, cost of living and restoring trust in government
• Javid defended his tenure as health secretary, saying he gave Boris Johnson the benefit of the doubt, while Hunt emphasised how he is the only candidate not to have served in the current administration
• Also setting out their stalls were Shapps, who promised tax cuts and competent government, and Tugendhat, whose focus is on a "fresh start"
• Meanwhile, Labour have reiterated their pledge to call a no confidence vote tomorrow if the prime minister doesn't leave No 10
• Monday will also see the 1922 Committee convening to set out the rules and timetable of a leadership race that is swiftly gathering pace.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, EPA

This is the week we found out, barring something totally unforeseen, who will lead the Labour Party into the next general election: Sir Keir Starmer.

And we found out who definitely won't be leading the Conservatives into it: Boris Johnson.

As the PM's political woes multiplied in recent months, he was, for Labour and others, a political target the size of a barn door.

And Starmer sought to define himself as everything Boris Johnson was not.

But now, Johnson will soon be the former prime minister, the Labour leader now faces the moving target of a range of possible future ones.

And whoever replaces Johnson may not present Starmer with quite the same scope for critique as he's had in recent months.

That said, the new Conservative leader won't have a mandate to call their own, and so it will be easier for opponents to question their legitimacy as prime minister.

Read more here.

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As those entering the running for leader set out their stalls, most of the early pledging has been focused around tax.

Many of the declared candidates have already promised to cut taxes on individuals, businesses, or both.

Former health secretaries Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt have pledged to cut corporation tax - Javid has also promised to bring forward a 1p reduction in income tax to next year.

However, Jeremy Hunt tells BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend programme: "No Conservative should ever promise unfunded tax cuts. It's immoral to load up debt on future generations - my kids, your kids, our grandkids - just for the sake of jam today.

"And so the business tax cuts that I'm proposing are carefully costed. We can do them within the fiscal rules."

But he adds: "I am passionately in favour of reducing personal taxation.

"But the way you do it is by growing the economy, creating the wealth to make it possible to afford a personal tax cut that will last."

The latest candidate to enter the leadership race, Penny Mordaunt, launched her campaign earlier with a video montage showing the best of Britain.

But Paralympian Jonnie Peacock was not best pleased to see a clip of himself sprinting to victory in the 2021 London games in the video, and has requested the footage is removed.

The race is evidently under way - so how will the Tories actually choose a new leader?

The timetable for the Conservative leadership race is due to be confirmed on Monday and the new prime minister is expected to be in position by September.

People putting themselves forward will first have to secure the backing of Tory MPs before the final two go to a ballot of Conservative members.

Under the current rules, candidates need the support of eight Conservative MPs to stand. If there are more than two, Tory MPs hold a series of votes until just two remain.

At that point there is a ballot of the wider Conservative Party membership to select the winner.

The timescale for each contest is decided by the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, and the committee could vote to change the rules before the contest takes place.

Image source, Reuters

Attorney General Suella Braverman - the first to throw her hat in the ring for the leadership contest - has been setting out her position on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

A stauch Brexiteer, Braverman believes the UK "must fully take back control of our borders" by "leaving the jurisdiction of the ECHR".

She says that when people voted for Brexit, they expected this to be done.

"The British people should be able to vote for their priorities and expect that their government can carry them out. This is the definition of taking back control," she says.

In recent weeks,the ECHR intervened in a UK court rulingthat would have allowed asylum seekers to be removed to Rwanda - a controversial policy designed to deter smugglers sending people across the English Channel in small boats.

"It is unacceptable", she says, that "a foreign court" was able to stop the first flight to Rwanda. She adds this "obstruction" destroys trust in politics.

What is the Human Rights Act?

Tom Tugendhat has been speaking to BBC News.

The tax plans of the leadership contenders once again feature, with Mr Tugendhat pointing out that he hadn't voted in favour of the recent rise in National Insurance.

He said the tax rise could inhibit the UK from becoming a "high-growth" economy, and he would be "looking really hard" at taxes as part of a 10-year economic plan to ensure well-performing public services and a "strong, more resilient and fairer economy".

Tugendhat also spoke about fuel duty and how the record petrol prices "had made a difference in my life".

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Earlier we reported that Jeremy Hunt has chosen Esther McVey as his deputy prime minister should he win the Tory leadership race.

McVey has since written an opinion piece in the Express, external in which she says she has not "sold out" on her principles by supporting Hunt despite the pair not being "ideological soulmates".

This "is not a weakness, it is a strength", she writes, as "the Conservative Party is a broad church with a wide base of support and it is essential that we always are".

"With Jeremy as prime minister, and me serving as his deputy, I believe we can offer the strongest possible appeal to the whole country and to ensure we retain all of our seats at the next General Election with policies and priorities which will resonate in different parts of the country," McVey says.

She goes on describe what she sees as Hunt's qualities for the top job: work ethic, attention to detail, and an honesty which proves him to be "a man of impeccable integrity".

Image source, Reuters

Today's Sunday morning was far from easy for those vying for the top job in No 10, with many Tory leadership contenders up and about early outlining why they should be the next prime minister.

If you're just joining us, here's a summary of the main developments so far:

• Nine candidates have now announced their bids to succeed Boris Johnson: Penny Mordaunt, Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt, Grant Shapps, Nadhim Zahawi, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat, and Rishi Sunak.
• Taxation is already a key dividing line in the race, with potential leaders setting out how they intend to tackle high inflation, cost of living surges and stagnant growth
• Four of the five candidates to enter the race in the last 24 hours, Javid, Hunt, Zahawi and Shapps (Mordaunt being the most recent),have all indicated their intentions to cut taxes
• But Sunak, the bookies' favourite, believes such tax reductions will have to wait
• Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected to launch her campaign in the next 24 hours, with Priti Patel also a possible addition to the lists of candidates
• The 1922 Committee, which sets rules for the Conservative Party in Parliament, will set out the exact timetable after a meeting tomorrow afternoon

You can also read our story on the leadership race here.

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Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey says she'd back Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to be the next Tory leader - although Truss hasn't yet declared she's in the running.

In a tweet, Coffey says: "We need a leader who can unite the Red and Blue Wall, has a clear vision for the country and economy, and has the skills and experience to get the tough decisions right.

"Liz's delivery record in government is second to none. She has helped lead the international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, brokered dozens of post-Brexit trade deals that people thought would be impossible to do.

"Liz is our best chance of winning the next election."

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We know that Boris Johnson has said he will step down as prime minister when a new Conservative Party leader is found. But how will the process unfold?

In the past, prime ministers choosing to step down have usually stayed in office until a successor is selected. That means Johnson will stay in position until the Conservatives find a new leader, just as his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron did when they resigned.

It's been suggested that process could last until October, although it could be much shorter - finding May's replacement took two months.

In his resignation statement Johnson said: "I've agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week."

Whoever wins the contest to lead the Conservatives will become the leader of the party with the largest number of MPs in Parliament. The Queen will therefore ask them to form a government and they'll become PM.

When a prime minister resigns, there is not automatically a general election.

The latest an election can be held is January 2025, external, but the new prime minister could choose to call an election before then.

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Leadership contender Sajid Javid will no doubt be hoping to emulate the viral success of his counterpart Rishi Sunak with his own social media campaign.

In the last few minutes, Javid has just resurrected his Team Saj account which lay dormant since July 2019.

Also announcing her leadership bid today was Penny Mordaunt - she'll be hoping to gain some traction online with her #pm4pm tag.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg says "gossip" should not have dictated the fate of Boris Johnson as prime minister following his handling of the Chris Pincher allegations.

Calls for Johnson to step down intesified last week after he admitted it was a "bad mistake" to appoint Pincher as deputy chief whip earlier this year, despite being aware of misconduct claims against Pincher during his time at the Foreign Office.

Staunch Johnson ally Rees-Mogg tells Sky: "I believe in the principle that somebody is innocent until proven guilty, and though the reports of what Mr Pincher has done sound very serious, they have gone from sounding as if somebody was too drunk and behaved badly, to a sexual assault, that is a different category.

"And when the prime minister was first talking about it, or his spokesman was first talking about it, it sounded like somebody who was very drunk. But the principle of innocent until proved guilty is fundamental and Mr Pincher is entitled to due process, that's a constitutional fundamental.

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Tom Tugendhat, the first of nine Tory MPs to throw their hats in the ring to become their party's next leader, was speaking earlier about his campaign.

In an interview with Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday, he emphasised there would be a "clean start" for the government under his stewardship.

On whether he would consider cutting corporation tax as prime minister, he said plans by his opponents to do so were "not realistic unless you have ten-year economic plan".

"You can't simply look at each of these taxes as a one-off, you need to look at it as part of a whole," he said.

Tugendhat also warned against the "real danger" of "chasing inflationary spirals" when asked if public sector workers should get a pay rise.

"I am not going to get into the detail of it until I have set out a ten-year economic plan," he said.

"I am afraid it doesn't work to penny-pinch like that or to highlight individual items.

"That is not the way to set out a growing economy, that is not the way to restart the economy, that is not the way to get a clean start."

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent

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There are nine official candidates so far in this leadership election, but one very prominent issue - taxes.

This morning we've heard from two high-profile candidates - both who used to be health secretary. Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid.

Hunt confirmed a prominent Brexiteer, Esther McVey, would be his deputy prime minister. That's perhaps an attempt to distance himself from his Remain-voting past.

He's promised tax cuts under his premiership. He's specifically focusing on lowering costs for business, and argues these sort of changes won't fuel inflation.

His rival, Sajid Javid, is promising £39bn of tax cuts, many of them aimed at allowing people to keep more of their money. He argues it's actually a risk to not do this.

He's even changed his mind on a tax rise introduced in April to help the NHS - the very health service he was running at the time.

They're not alone in these pledges, most candidates are promising similar. Remember, they're pitching themselves to Tory members, many who will feel the tax burden is currently too high.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, European Pressphoto Agency

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been doing his first media interviews since deciding to run for PM.

Speaking to Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme earlier this morning, he set out where he stands on a few major areas.

On leadership: Shapps insists he'll deliver competent government, telling the BBC he's got the experience.

On tax: Tax cuts are a good lever to get money into people's pockets, says Shapps. He would cut the basic rate of tax from 20p to 19p, and would not put corporation tax up. If he's elected, he'll hold an emergency budget.

On Partygate: Asked whether he was lied to by the PM about gatherings happening in Downing Street during lockdown, Shapps says no, adding he's run his own department better. He adds that he wasn't able to see his father in hospital during the pandemic.

Northern Ireland: Speaking about the current impasse over the Northern Ireland protocol - part of the UK's Brexit deal governing trade arrangments there - Shapps says he believes we're one United Kingdom, but refuses to reveal his negotiating approach on this matter.

Trans issues: Shapps is asked whether a Trans woman is a woman. He says one can't deny biology, adding that he has love and respect for those who change their gender. He says his government will not be obsessed with these issues.

Rwanda asylum programme: Shapps says he'll keep the programme under which asylum seekers entering the UK illegally are to be sent to Rwanda where they can progress with their applications. He says this country has a big open heart - with many people including himself hosting Ukrainian refugees in their houses. But an open heart doesn't mean allowing people to die in boats in the English Channel, Shapps adds.

General election: People expect us to deliver on the vast majority of the 2019 programme, Shapps says. He plans to make the UK the biggest economy in Europe by 2050.

More now on Penny Mordaunt, the Minister for Trade since 2021, who has become the ninth person to join the increasingly crowded Tory leadership race.

She was first elected as an MP for Portsmouth North in 2010, and was subsequently re-elected to the same seat every year since.

She was made Secretary of State for International Development in 2017 and, in May 2019, she became the first woman to hold the post of Secretary of State for Defence - only to be sacked in July, when Boris Johnson became PM.

She later re-entered the Government, becoming Paymaster General in 2020.

Mordaunt is a staunch Brexiteer and campaigned for Vote Leave in 2016. In a speech last December, she said that Brexit is not "an act of self-harm or one that requires us to be punished. It is a massive opportunity to anyone who believes in democracy and the power of trade as a force for good in the world."

In the video she shared on social media announcing her leadership bid, Mordaunt says that "our leadership has to change. It needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship".

Moving away from the Conservative leadership contenders briefly now to the opposition, where Labour has been leading calls for a general election and for the prime minister to depart immediately.

"I think it's in the national interest that Boris Johnson goes. I actually think it's really damaging, him clinging on now," Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tells the BBC.

"We need a change from the last 12 years, not the last 12 months."

She says there is still hope that Johnson will "do the right thing" and leave Downing Street quickly, but if he clings to power, Labour will push ahead in calling for a no confidence vote in the prime minister next week.

"That (pushing for a vote of no confidence) is what Keir is proposing but we are hoping the Conservatives will address this at their meeting tomorrow," she adds.

Should asylum seekers be sent to Rwanda? "I agree with that policy."

Would you lock down the country again if there was another pandemic: "Not for Covid."

Do you keep the commitment to get to net zero by 2050: "Yes."

Will you scrap the BBC licence fee: "No."

Scottish independence: Javid says the last referendum was supposed to be a once in a generation event so he wouldn't allow another for at least a decade.

For how many years were you non-domiciled for tax purposes in the past? Javid says this was in the 2000s before public life. He adds he had a job that was international and he lived abroad including in the US and Singapore. In 2009 he moved back to the UK and ever since then he's been tax resident and tax domiciled in the UK.

"Everything I've ever done when it comes to UK tax affairs has been properly consistent with UK tax... I've never been investigated for my tax affairs," he adds.