A survey of 725 Conservative Party members - carried out before Penny Mordaunt was knocked out - indicates former chancellor Rishi Sunak could lose the race to be the next PM, despite coming top among his fellow Tory MPs.

The survey, conducted by polling firm YouGov, external, suggests Foreign Secretary Liz Truss would beat Sunak by 54% to 35% in a head-to-head contest (the remaining 11% were "don't know").

It also suggests Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt would have won by 51% to 37% if she and Sunak had been the final pair.

But remember - a lot can change between now and 5 September, when the result is due.

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On the back of finding out she'd made it to the final two, Liz Truss was pictured hugging and celebrating some of her supporters.

The foreign secretary posed for photographs at Westminster with backers, including Attorney General Suella Braverman, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng and Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey.

PA Media reports hearing someone tell Truss it meant more hustings, to which she reportedly quipped: "I can't get enough of hustings."

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Dominic Cummings - the prime minister's former top adviser turned chief critic - has hit out at Liz Truss, after she made the final two.

Cummings supports Rishi Sunak to become the new prime minister - although Sunak has denied any formal or informal link between Cummings and his campaign.

Although the MPs' vote was anonymous, Cummings said the European Research Group - a group of Eurosceptic backbench MPs - backed Truss.

"Totally on-brand for ERG to back a truly useless Remainer [Truss] who did nothing in govt except gabble with hacks," Cummings writes on Twitter., external

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More now from Liz Truss who has issued a statement to supporters in the last few minutes thanking them for selecting her as one of the final two contenders for Tory Party leader.

She also pays tribute to the other leadership candidates, saying each of them "has contributed enormously to the Conservative Party and to public life".

The foreign secretary says: "I am excited to now take to the country to make the case to the Conservative Party about my bold new economic plan that will cut taxes, grow our economy and unleash the potential of everyone in our United Kingdom.

"As prime minister I would hit the ground running from day one, unite the party and govern in line with Conservative values.

"I am incredibly proud to be a part of the Conservative and Unionist Party and am excited to spend the next few weeks proving to all of our brilliant members exactly why I am the right person to lead it, and our great nation."

Here's the moment Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, announced that Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss had made it to the run-off to decide the Conservative Party's next leader.

Former cabinet minister Liam Fox, who's backing Rishi Sunak, says his first-placed result, in which he secured 137 votes, was "quite emphatic".

Fox says he hopes both candidates will now focus on their positive qualities and refrain from "blue on blue" attacks (turning their fire on each other), which he says is a "dangerous game".

Fox says Sunak is the most competent and experienced candidate. He believes in the union and free market economics and is best placed to win the next general election, adds Fox.

A quick look at today's results compared to yesterday's ballot - which saw Kemi Badenoch knocked out of the contest - suggests that her 59 supporters have split between the three remaining candidates, but with nearly half of them going to Liz Truss.

Truss gained 27 votes, leapfrogging over Penny Mordaunt into second place.

Mordaunt gained 13 votes compared to yesterday, and Sunak was up by 19.

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MP Sir Charles Walker, who backed Penny Mordaunt, says he's "absolutely gutted" she's now out of the contest.

He says she's been subjected to "very hostile and unpleasant briefings" from colleagues and some in the media, which he says is part of "modern politics".

Walker says many Tory MPs were frightened that they didn't figure in Mordaunt's plans, saying many tend to vote according to what they think is best for their career.

He says he'll now back Rishi Sunak, but adds he doesn't know if anyone can lead the party to victory in the next general election, because it appears to be spending all its time talking to itself rather than the country.

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In total, 105 Conservative MPs voted for Penny Mordaunt in the final round.

Now they've voted for the final time, the MPs don't have a say in who becomes the next prime minister (other than voting alongside the other 160,000 Conservative Party members).

One of Mordaunt's backers, Michael Fabricant, says he will now support Liz Truss.

"It was close. I'm sad Penny didn't make it," he tweeted., external

"I now back Liz Truss. She stayed loyal to the end and didn't plot and scheme against Boris."

Rishi Sunak's campaign team celebrated his victory in today's ballot by suggesting the former chancellor was best placed to defeat Labour at a general election.

In a statement, his team said: "This is a really strong result with a clear mandate from MPs. He will now work night and day to get the mandate from the wider Conservative Party family to beat Labour, protect the Union and seize the opportunities of Brexit.

"The choice for members is very simple: Who is the best person to beat Labour at the next election? The evidence shows that's Rishi."

Liz Truss has thanked Tory MPs for their support after she and Rishi Sunak made it through to the final two contenders vying to succeed Boris Johnson.

"Thank you for putting your trust in me," she says.

"I'm ready to hit the ground from day one."

Penny Mordaunt, knocked out in this afternoon's vote, has also shared her reaction saying "we go forward together".

In a statement, she congratulates Sunak and Truss, saying: "I pay tribute to anyone who puts themselves forward for such a demanding role.

She adds: "I am a One Nation, proud Brexiteer. My campaign put forward a positive vision for the country I love so much, remembering who we are here to serve.

"Our mission is not only to deliver on what we promised but to win the fight against Labour at the next general election. I hope to play my part in both."

Now the final two have been decided, what happens next?

Hustings for members of the Conservative Party will be held around the country – starting from Friday 22 July.

The winner will be announced on Monday 5 September after a postal ballot, completed by 160,000 Tory party members.

The final two candidates have agreed to take part in a head-to-head debate on the BBC on Monday 25 July.

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In Tuesday's voting, Sunak got 118, Mordaunt was second with 92 and Truss was third with 86.

Penny Mordaunt has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership contest, meaning Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will face each other in the run-off decided by party members.

Tory MP John Glen has dismissed claims that Rishi Sunak's team instructed colleagues to lend their votes to other candidates to gain an advantage.

Speaking on BBC News, Glen, who is backing Sunak, says: "We've been trying to maximise the vote for Rishi Sunak. That's what we've been doing for the last 12, 13 days.

"It will be for my colleagues collectively to decide who the first two candidates are."

In about 15 minutes' time we're going to hear the results of the final vote among Conservative MPs to determine which two candidates go forward to the ballot of party members. They will decide in voting over the summer which of the two will become leader and prime minister in September.

Rishi Sunak, who has been in first place in every round of the contest, is expected to make the final two. Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss are in a battle for that key second place.

At one stage Mordaunt had been the bookies' favourite to win, but Truss gained ground in the last round.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers, will announce the result at 16:00.

We'll have updates and analysis here, and you can watch live by clicking the play button above.

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

Supporters of Penny Mordaunt are all but conceding defeat.

One former minister who's played a key role in her campaign said: "I fear Liz has pushed us out."

The MP suggested "nasty personal attacks" in the media had cut through and predicted a Rishi Sunak vs Liz Truss contest would damage both candidates and the Conservative Party.

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The cabinet secretary is investigating claims that information was leaked from within the civil service - after Penny Mordaunt supporter David Davis raised concerns on Sunday "about the apparent leaking of information designed to influence the Conservative leadership election".

In a letter to Davis, Simon Case writes: "I have been very clear in writing with the civil service that it is paramount that public resources are not used to support leadership campaigns during the Conservative Party leadership election.

"Further to that, unauthorised disclosure of government information to the media is clearly inappropriate."

Case goes on to confirm that he has launched "a leak investigation" into this matter which will be completed "as quickly as possible".

The Sunday Times reported, external that it had seen government documents suggesting that Mordaunt favoured removing at least one of the medical requirements needed for a person to legally change their gender during her time as equalities minister.

Mordaunt says she does not support a change to self-ID for this process, and clashed with fellow would-be Tory leaders Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch over the issue during the televised leadership debates.

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Penny Mordaunt has said "we won't have long to wait" when asked if she was optimistic about making the final run-off to be next Conservative leader.

MPs have now finished voting and results are due at 16:00.

The race between Mordaunt and Liz Truss for a place on the ballot paper is looking close - with just six votes between them last time. First-placed candidate Rishi Sunak is widely expected to take one of the two spots.

A supporter of Kemi Badenoch, who was knocked out yesterday, has told the PA News Agency they expect her backers to be split between Truss and Sunak.

The unnamed MP says they are supporting Truss to ensure there are "two grown-ups in the final round".

Voting has closed and we have reached the end of the final round of Tory MPs having their say on the choice of the next prime minister.

The names of the final two candidates that will face Conservative Party members this summer will be announced at 16:00, so stick with us for the results as we get them and analysis of what it means for the next phase of the election.