Conservative MP and Penny Mordaunt supporter Damian Collins says Mordaunt and her team are working "very hard" to secure the 100 nominations she needs to get her on the ballot by 14:00.

Asked on Radio 4's World at One a short while ago about the lack of public backing from Tory MPs for Mordaunt, Collins said he'd spoken to colleagues "directly" who'd sent in their nomination emails backing Mordaunt before publicly confirming their support for her.

He added that having more than one candidate for prime minister on the ballot was something the party owed to its membership.

"It would be wrong just to say, 'well, we're not really going to have a proper process, we're just going to decide on one person'.

"I think there has to be a proper process and that's why we're working very hard to make sure Penny gets over the line," he says.

It's been widely discussed that if Rishi Sunak wins the Tory leadership contest, he'll be the first British Asian prime minister.

Barnie Choudhury, editor at large at the Eastern Eye newspaper, has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.

He says a victory for Sunak could be "a huge moment" for the South Asian community.

"Role models like Rishi Sunak will be viewed by South Asians who want to enter politics, and if Rishi Sunak were to become prime minister, glass ceilings would be utterly broken and that can only be a good thing for people of colour."

But he warned that Sunak could face intense scrutiny, because "people of colour are held to a higher standard than people who are white".

He also said Sunak could face accusations that "he is out of touch with reality, because of the privilege that he holds."

Many of you have been sending in comments as we edge closer to that 14:00 deadline.

Here are some of them:

It won't be long until nominations formally close in the Tory leadership contest. Momentum is still very much with Rishi Sunak, but Penny Mordaunt's team say her campaign is still very much alive.

Here's a quick recap of where we are:

• Each candidate needs at least 100 Tory MPs to back them in order to remain in the contest
• As we've been reporting, Sunak hit that threshold very quickly and a tally compiled by the BBC of MPs publicly supporting the former Chancellor currently stands at 193
• According to the same analysis, Mordaunt has much few public backers - currently 26
• Mordaunt's team insist they are actually much closer to achieving the required number of Tory MPs
• A Mordaunt campaign source told the BBC's chief political correspondent Nick Eardley that it is "going to go to the wire"
• Our correspondent has also been told that Sunak is continuing to talk to MPs and is taking nothing for granted

• But one of Mordaunt's key supporters, George Freeman, has switched his allegiance and has urged Mordaunt to step aside
• Elsewhere, the influential European Research Group (ERG), which is made up of Tory backbenchers, says it cannot decide whether to endorse Sunak or Mordaunt

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

Rishi Sunak supporter Fay Jones MP says Sunak is the right person to become PM and deal with the economic difficulties facing the country.

Jones tells the BBC's Politics Live programme that Sunak's experience as chancellor during the pandemic, including implementing the furlough scheme, means "he's the right person to hit the ground running".

He won't "sugar coat things, or promise everybody the moon on a stick. He's realistic about the challenges we are facing and that's why we need him as prime minister."

Conservative MP George Freeman, who earlier pledged his support for Penny Mordaunt, says he will now be voting for Rishi Sunak to be the next prime minister.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, Freeman says that though Mordaunt is a "fantastic candidate" who should be at the top of the next Conservative cabinet, "it is essential that we come together to demonstrate stability and unity".

He says the party needs a "unity ticket" in wake of the economic situation, and that there's no point spending another four to five days voting for a leader.

He adds that he hopes Mordaunt will pick up the phone to Rishi today in order to strike a deal.

We've been hearing that Conservative MP and Penny Mordaunt supporter George Freeman has urged Mordaunt to step aside as a leadership contender, and make a deal with Rishi Sunak.

But another Mordaunt backer, Conservative MP Heather Wheeler, insists that the Tory party needs her "fresh face", rather than "somebody with fingers on the knife of getting rid of other people".

It's a reference to Sunak, who some Conservative MPs hold partly responsible for the downfall of former PM Boris Johnson.

Asked on the BBC's Politics Live programme why Mordaunt - who has far less public support from Tory MPs than Sunak at present - isn't bowing out now, Wheeler says: "She's not the sort of person to throw in the towel.

"She believes in leading from the front. She also believes that we need a fresh face to take on all of these challenges."

Tory MP Sir Roger Gale, who is supporting Penny Mordaunt, says he's “more than hopeful” she will secure the backing of 100 MPs by today's 14:00 deadline.

As we've been reporting, fewer than 30 Mordaunt-backers have declared their support publicly - although her team says she has many more.

Sir Roger told BBC Radio 5 Live that Mordaunt can "pull everything together" as "chairman of the board" with Jeremy Hunt staying as chancellor.

He saw Mordaunt this morning and said she was “very chipper” and “in the zone”.

But he added that if Rishi Sunak won, he would have his support.

When Boris Johnson was still in the running yesterday, Sir Roger said he was considering resigning from voting with his party in parliament - but not any more.

Former chancellor George Osborne has joined the list of Tories urging Penny Mordaunt to drop out of the contest today.

In a tweet,, external Osborne says the Commons leader cannot command the support of a majority of MPs.

"An uncontested election of Rishi Sunak today would reinforce the return of market credibility and show the Tories have rediscovered a will to win," he says.

"She should then be part of this top team."

Image source, PA Media

More now from the chairman of the European Research Group (ERG).

Mark Francois says Rishi Sunak did not commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence when he met the group earlier.

The ERG is a wing of the Parliamentary Conservative Party that pushed for Brexit. It has no official role in parliamentary proceedings - or even within the Tory Party itself - but it is viewed as an influential group.

Francois told reporters: "We believe that we have one - and potentially two - extremely strong options to be leader of the Conservative Party, but as a group we were unable to collectively endorse either candidate."

Speaking personally, Francois said he was not convinced the British public wanted a fourth election in seven years.

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

I’ve spoken to some Tory MPs who were just at a meeting of One Nation Conservative MPs - who sit more to the centre wing of the party.

I was told that the MP John Penrose, who is backing Mordaunt, said that for the good of the party, the vote must go to the Tory members - in other words, Penny Mordaunt should not drop out.

Certainly some MPs backing Rishi Sunak are hoping, and urging, her to do so as they feel more days of camps thrashing it out - and a members' vote that may not necessarily align with the MPs' vote - will only cause more divisions.

Image source, PA Media

In the last few moments, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has thrown his weight behind Rishi Sunak's campaign.

He tweets: "It is time for us to end the leadership contest and get a prime minister in place ASAP.

"I have reached the decision that senior experience at the heart of government matters most.

"To that end I shall support Rishi Sunak."

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

I’ve just spoken to George Freeman, a prominent Penny Mordaunt supporter.

He’s urging her to pick up the phone to Rishi Sunak and make a deal.

He’s told the BBC she’d make a great prime minister but he thinks she needs to agree a ticket with Sunak.

Conservative MP George Freeman - who announced he was backing Penny Mordaunt in the race to be prime minister - says Tory MPs need to consider whether having a leader by this afternoon or having a week-long contest would best serve the country's national interests.

Some in Westminster are seeing this as him endorsing Sunak but Freeman doesn't say this explicitly.

In a series of tweets, he says Tory MPs need to consider whether it is better for them to put their differences aside and back Sunak, someone who he says has the "economic gravitas", or to let it go to a members' vote if Mordaunt hits the 100 MP threshold.

He says this is a genuine question the party needs to think about this morning, "given we all have to come together in the national interest".

The influential European Research Group (ERG) - a wing of the Conservative Party which pushed strongly for Brexit - says it's unable to agree on which candidate to endorse.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, the ERG chairman, Conservative MP Mark Francois, says both Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak promised a "robust line on Northern Ireland".

He adds that the ERG will unite behind whoever wins.

Image source, PA Media

Rishi Sunak is the frontrunner to succeed Liz Truss as Conservative Party leader.

A former chancellor (Feb. 2020 to July 2022) he has enjoyed a swift rise from being elected in 2015 as MP for Richmond (Yorks) to now going for the top job.

But what do we know about him?

• Sunak was born in Southampton in 1980 to parents of Indian descent who had emigrated from East Africa. His father was a GP and his mother ran her own pharmacy. He would be the first British Asian PM
• He was educated at private boarding school Winchester College, Oxford University and Stanford University in California
• It was in the US that he met his wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire and IT mogul. She and Sunak, 42, have two daughters
• He has never commented publicly on how much he is worth, but his career in finance before entering politics is reported to have made him a millionaire while still in his twenties. You can read more on he and his wife's joint fortunes here
• The finances of Sunak and his family came under intense scrutiny this year, with his wife's tax affairs placed in the spotlight. Murty then said she would start paying UK tax on her overseas earnings, relieving political pressure on her husband
• If chosen today, Sunak would become Tory Party leader on Diwali - the Hindu festival of lights
• He doesn't drink alcohol but likes cola

Read more about Sunak here.

Penny Mordaunt's campaign is now claiming she has received the support of 90 Tory MPs, according to a source.

They did not provide the names, so we are not able to verify these numbers. Our research still indicates she has fewer than 30 backers.

If she does indeed have 90 backers, this would leave Mordaunt just 10 MPs shy of the threshold to take the leadership contest to another stage - a vote among party members.

The campaign source urges other MPs to back her "for the sake of the party", adding it's important that Tory members get the chance to select the next prime minister.

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

Rishi Sunak is now the choice of Conservative MPs.

The steady stream is continuing. If it was up to them alone, it’d be game over.

The only unanswered question is whether Penny Mordaunt makes 100.

At the moment, among declared MPs she’s miles off. But her supporters continue to say they can make it by 14:00 BST.

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Image source, Getty Images

Penny Mordaunt was the first Conservative MP to officially announce she would stand to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader and prime minister.

What do we know about the contender for the top job?

• Mordaunt's military background plays a significant role in her political identity. As a Royal Navy reservist and MP for Portsmouth North, she often speaks about what it means to come from a navy family and a city with a rich naval and maritime heritage
• During Theresa May's premiership, Mordaunt became the UK's first ever female defence secretary. But she served for just 85 days until Boris Johnson took over as PM. In July, Mordaunt pledged to honour the UK's Nato commitment of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030
• Before starting her career in politics, she was a magician's assistant. In 2014, while an MP, Mordaunt appeared on ITV programme Splash!, and was mentored on diving by Olympic star Tom Daley
• Mordaunt says she wants a "lower tax, higher productivity economy"
• Critics have attacked her stance on transgender issues. Some objected to her statements of support for trans rights while equalities minister. She later rowed back on them, saying "if you've been in the Royal Navy, and you have competed physically against men, you understand the biological difference between men and women"

You can read more about Mordaunt here.