As it happened: Zahawi and Hunt out as Sunak tops first round of Tory contest

1. Rishi Sunak leads the first ballot in the Conservative leadership race with 88 votes
2. Penny Mordaunt gets 67 votes and Liz Truss secures 50 votes
3. Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt fail to achieve the required 30 votes and exit the contest
4. Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman and Tom Tugendhat are all also among the remaining six candidates going through to another vote tomorrow
5. Earlier Boris Johnson told MPs that he was "leaving with my head held high"
6. Labour's Sir Keir Starmer attacked tax and spending pledges set out by Tory leadership candidates, but Johnson said their commitments are "very good"
7. The government will table a confidence vote in itself - due next week - after blocking a Labour bid

Thanks for joining us

We'll be back tomorrow with the latest updates on what is likely to be another busy day in the leadership contest.

Today's page was written by George Bowden, Adam Durbin, Doug Faulkner, Chas Geiger, Marie Jackson, Marita Moloney, Richard Morris and Aoife Walsh.

It was edited by Claudia Allen and Emma Owen.

What's been happening?

We'll be pausing our live coverage of the Conservative Party leadership race soon.

Before we go, here's a recap of today's main developments:

• There are now six contenders vying to succeed Boris Johnson as Tory leader and prime minister after the first round of voting today
• Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Suella Braverman all received the support of more than 30 MPs, meaning they will be included in a second ballot tomorrow
• Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy Hunt bowed out of the race after failing to reach the threshold
• The second round of voting by MPs will see the field narrowed again, with the least popular candidate knocked out regardless of the support they receive
• It comes as a snap poll of party members showed Penny Mordaunt has the most support among card-carrying Tories
• Boris Johnson appeared at PMQs where he vowed he would leave No 10 with his "head held high"
• Meanwhile, the government is tabling a motion of confidence in itself after refusing a Labour call for a showdown on the prime minister's future.

And then there were six: Who's left in the race for PM?

BBC

There are six people left vying to take over from Boris Johnson as Tory leader. So who are they and what do they stand for?

Kemi Badenoch (bottom right in picture above)

• Has promised tax cuts and low regulation, while being critical of net zero emissions target in her leadership bid

Suella Braverman (top left)

• Launched her leadership bid with promises to take the UK out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), to cut VAT on energy and reduce regulation while voicing criticism of net zero emissions target

Penny Mordaunt (top right)

• Has promised to cut VAT on fuel and to raise the basic and middle earner income tax thresholds in line with inflation

Rishi Sunak (bottom left)

• Launched his leadership bid with a focus on the economy, ruling out tax cuts before public finances improve

Liz Truss (bottom middle)

• Launched her leadership bid promising immediate tax cuts, reversal of the National Insurance increase and a long-term commitment to reducing the size of the state

Tom Tugendhat (top middle)

• Has pledged to cut National Insurance and fuel duty, and to increase investment outside of the South East if he becomes leader

Read more here.

Dorries claims coup brought down Johnson

Reuters

Boris Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries is claiming the prime minister's downfall is the result of a "coup" staged by Tory MPs.

In a pre-released clip from tonight's BBC Panorama, the culture secretary says she was "stunned" that some of her colleagues wanted Johnson out of No 10 less than three years after a landslide victory.

The "anti-democratic nature of what they're doing alone was enough to alarm me", she tells presenter Laura Kuenssberg.

The full programme airs at 20:00 BST on BBC One, and you can also catch up after on the iPlayer here.

Quotes of the day: Thatcher, smears and a time for unity

Leadership contenders have been out in force looking to shore up their support ahead of the first round vote - and now six will proceed to Thursday's second ballot. Here are some of the key quotes of the day:

We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly. That's my economic approach. I would describe it as common-sense Thatcherism. I believe that's what she would have done."

Rishi Sunak

A gentle word of advice to the remaining candidates: smears & attacks may bring short term tactical gain but always backfire long term. The nation is watching & they've had enough of our drama; be the broad church & unbeatable, election winning machine that our country deserves."

Jeremy Hunt

This is not about petty politics, this is not some sort of a game. This isn't just some sort of knife fight in a phone box. This is a battle of ideas that is actually going to determine the future of our country."

Tom Tugendhat

Now is the time for colleagues to unite behind the candidate who will cut taxes, deliver the real economic change we need from day one and ensure Putin loses in Ukraine."

Spokeswoman for Liz Truss

I don't intend to make any further intervention, but I wish all the candidates in the leadership contest the very best of luck."

Nadhim Zawahi

What happens next? Your guide to the next stage of the contest

PA Media

Six candidates have qualified for the second round of voting tomorrow.

Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and Suella Braverman will all be in Thursday's ballot.

Tory MPs will vote again between 13:30 and 15:30 BST.

The result of the second round will be announced at 17:00 and the candidate who finishes sixth will be eliminated.

From now on though, there will be no minimum threshold of votes for contenders to reach to progress further.

In theory, the process will then continue with further votes of Conservative MP daily from next Monday - and a single candidate eliminated each time - until just two are left.

A decision on which of them will replace Boris Johnson as prime minister will then go to the party's membership - thought to number about 200,000 - with the winner announced on 5 September.

But the number of MPs' votes could be shortened if candidates drop out or merge campaigns.

Tory party vice-chair quits role to campaign for Mordaunt

Hemel Hempstead MP Sir Mike Penning has resigned as Conservative Party vice-chairman to campaign for Penny Mordaunt in the leadership contest.

He has told Sky News: "As vice-chair I was unable to declare who I would want to vote for so I stepped down this afternoon.

"Penny has all the attributes we're looking for now, she's very down to earth, she's served her country as defence secretary and in the Royal Navy, and particularly in my constituency she will go down very well."

Expect allegiances to start shifting

Chris Mason

Political editor

Six candidates remain and one big question - what happens to those 43 votes allocated to the two candidates eliminated?

Expect as soon as this evening a shift of allegiances and a remoulding of this campaign, yet again.

The working assumption here at Westminster is that Rishi Sunak will get one of the two tickets to go into the final two to be decided by Conservative party members.

There is now a battle for that second ticket - between Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt. And this evening at least, Penny Mordaunt has the upper hand.

Braverman 'has all to play for'

Attorney General for England and Wales Suella Braverman came sixth in the first round of the contest with 32 votes.

The minimum threshold to proceed to the next round was 30 votes, and Braverman is the lowest placed candidate to remain in the contest.

But in a tweet, Braverman is showing no sign of being about to drop out of the race.

MP Miriam Cates is backing her. She tells the BBC we've "got a lot of work to do" but "it's all to play for" in tonight's hustings.

She says Braverman will impress with her "passion, authority, professionalism and detail".

Cates says Brexit is not finished and Braverman is well placed to deal with problems that remain like the Northern Ireland Protocol (which sets out trading arrangements for Northern Ireland after Brexit).

Badenoch says Tories 'must stand as the party for change'

UK Parliament

Kemi Badenoch has also been sharing her reaction to making it into the second ballot in the Tory Party leadership race.

The former equalities minister, who came fourth securing the backing of 40 MPs in today's vote, has just tweeted gratitude for her colleagues' support.

"To win the next election and deliver Conservative solutions to today’s problems, our party must stand as the party for change," she says.

"I have the conviction, the courage, and the clarity of thought to deliver that change."

Hunt-McVey ticket 'clearly not the right one'

BBC

Esther McVey, Jeremy Hunt's prospective deputy prime minister, has acknowledged the combination of the pair was "clearly not considered the right one" after Hunt was knocked out of the contest.

In a statement, the backbench MP says she is "extremely grateful" to Hunt for "putting so much faith in me"

McVey adds she hopes colleagues "adopt the spirit" of what their campaign tried to achieve, which she says was "putting together a programme the party can unite behind to win the next election".

The remaining candidates all have immense talent and strengths. I will take some time speaking with them all before deciding who to vote for in the remainder of this election process."

Zahawi will not make 'further intervention' in contest

EPA

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has said he does not "intend to make any further intervention" in the leadership contest, following his failure to make the second round.

In a letter posted on Twitter, Zahawi writes he will continue to work leading the Treasury with "total focus" and thanked the supporters of his campaign.

"I am very grateful for the support of colleagues in this leadership election and to Conservatives up and down the country who have got behind me and sent me best wishes. Clearly my part in the contest has now ended.

Brexit stalwart Villiers supporting Sunak

Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers announces she is backing Rishi Sunak, saying he's "the best person to take the country through difficult economic circumstances".

She describes the first round result as "a really good start" in a "closely fought election".

Villiers is a committed Brexiteer. Most other Brexiteers have attacked Sunak's record on taxes, but Villiers says the former chancellor is a tax cutter and she has "real confidence" he can win the next general election.

Sunak camp upbeat about first round result

Chris Mason

Political editor

Team Sunak say "he’s landed a quarter of the party with eight candidates in the field".

The former chancellor has won 88 of the possible 358 votes in today's opening ballot of Conservative MPs.

Tugendhat 'has real momentum' - Damian Green

Tom Tugendhat supporter Damian Green says he is "absolutely still in this" and there's "real momentum there".

"Tom is offering a clean start," he states, and he suspects that Tugendhat - who came fifth in today's ballow with 37 votes - will now pick up some of Jeremy Hunt's supporters.

"Rishi has come ahead," he says, and he is the "most known name in this election," he says others are "scrapping for other slots on the ballot paper".

He says northern MPs are supporting Tom Tugendhat, and "as the debate continues" then people will start focusing on whether or not tax cuts "will be inflationary", he says.

Green says cutting duty on fuel, as Tom Tugendhat proposes, would be anti-inflationary, he says it's "extraordinary" that the UK doesn't currently have a long term plan for growth.

Another Tugendhat supporter, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, says that the MP is putting across a "positive" message, and it's still "all to play for".

At the scene: Zahawi supporters make phone calls

Ione Wells

Political Correspondent, BBC News

I've just spotted some of those who supported Nadhim Zahawi on the phone in hushed tones outside the result venue.

It’s exactly these kinds of MPs who the remaining candidates will want to be tapping up to try and convince them to join their side.

These negotiations will play a crucial role over the next few days.

Mordaunt nipping at Sunak's heels after strong showing

Jonathan Blake

BBC political correspondent

EPA

Penny Mordaunt was modest as she left the room, saying “I’m honoured” in response to her strong second place.

That, and the relatively narrow gap between her and Rishi Sunak are the main headlines from the first vote.

One Mordaunt backer in the room said her healthy showing in the first round indicated the need for the membership to be allowed the chance to have their say on her.

One backbencher not revealing who they’re backing suggested Sunak’s lead was hardly overwhelming.

Another backing Liz Truss said it shouldn't be taken for granted that the former chancellor would make the final two.

All eyes are on Jeremy Hunt and Nadhim Zahawi’s backers now to see who they support.

And there’s a feeling that the pressure's building on Suella Braverman to endorse another candidate, possibly Liz Truss.

Sunak 'feeling great' about opening round result

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak - seen by many as the frontrunner - has topped the first ballot of Conservative MPs with 88 votes.

He tells the BBC he feels “great” about the result.

Sunak resigned as chancellor last week.

Simon Clarke: Liz Truss is the sensible option

Liz Truss supporter Simon Clarke says "Liz is part of a pack of three candidates... who have serious momentum going into the days ahead".

He says "Liz is the sensible option" and the right of the party need to get behind a single candidate.

Not changing the "underlying economic plan" would mean that the UK can do tax cuts, he adds, "under the government of Boris Johnson", but there is "more headroom to be achieved" to allow reductions in taxation.

People on the right of the party will "have to think" about previous statements Penny Mordaunt has made, says Clarke, adding that he himself doesn't agree with Mordaunt on the issue of trans rights and her views on women.

WATCH: Sir Graham Brady announces the result

Here's the moment that the MPs vying to become the next prime minister learned their fate. Sir Graham Brady read out the results of the ballot of Conservative MPs.

Conservative leadership contest: Hunt and Zahawi out