Let's hear now from Boris Johnson's former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, who is backing Rishi Sunak as the next PM.

Sunak is yet to declare he's running - but Raab is "very confident" he will.

He tells BBC Breakfast the economy is the "critical issue" and "Rishi had the right plan in the summer and I think it is the right plan now".

Raab thinks Johnson could eventually make a return to front-line politics, but says it's impossible to do so while he faces a parliamentary investigation into whether he misled MPs over Covid rule-breaking.

"There's going to be oral testimony from people from No 10 and he's going to have to give oral testimony; I just can't see how the new PM could give the country the attention and focus that it needs," he says.

"We cannot go backwards. We cannot have another episode of the Groundhog Day of the soap opera of Partygate."

Image source, PA Media

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak was seen leaving his London home a few moments ago - but declined to speak to waiting reporters.

He acknowledged photographers as he got into a car but kept tight-lipped when asked whether he is running to replace his former leadership rival Liz Truss.

Sunak is out in front among Tory MPs, with his supporters saying he has already reached the 100 MPs needed to get him on Monday's ballot.

Sam Francis
Political reporter

Image source, Reuters

Boris Johnson, the man ousted as UK prime minister by his own government just three months ago, has emerged as an early front-runner to be the next prime minister.

A second Johnson premiership would be an extraordinary turnaround even for a politician who has made miraculous comebacks before.

The last time anyone returned to the office of prime minister after losing the leadership of their party was 140 years ago, when William Gladstone returned to lead the Liberals - although some party leaders have had two stints as PM, including Sir Winston Churchill and Harold Wilson.

The final months of Johnson's time in office were dogged by accusations he had broken ministerial rules by not telling the truth about Covid lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.

He remains under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Committee, which could, in theory, lead to him being suspended from Parliament, or even being kicked out as an MP.

Johnson has yet to officially announce he will stand, but his former press secretary Will Walden has told Sky News Johnson is "clearly taking soundings" on a leadership bid.

In his final appearance at Prime Minister's Questions in July this year, Johnson signed off with "hasta la vista, baby" (which translates as "see you later").

He could only have dropped a heavier hint that he was not finished yet if he had used another catchphrase from the Terminator films: "I'll be back."

Read more here.

As it stands, only Penny Mordaunt has officially declared she is standing to be the next Tory Party leader and prime minister - with 21 Tory MPs publicly supporting her bid so far.

Rishi Sunak leads Tory MPs' nominations to take over from Liz Truss, with 95 colleagues backing him by our count - although his supporters say he has already reached the 100 needed by 14:00 BST on Monday to get on the ballot.

Boris Johnson, who is currently flying back to the UK from a holiday in the Caribbean, told an ally he's "up for" entering the race - and is second to his former chancellor with 45 MPs pledging support.

Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate.

Image source, Jose Calzada

Meanwhile, other names mentioned as potential runners are former leadership hopefuls Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch - but neither have much in the way of supporters, and time is of the essence.

Other big names that have ruled themselves out include Michael Gove, Ben Wallace and Jeremy Hunt.

It's a fast-moving situation in Westminster, so stick with us for updates as soon as we get them.

It's been an extremely busy few days in Westminster and you'd be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by the avalanche of news - but don't worry, Newscast has you covered.

As we've been reporting, rumours are swirling about who will join Penny Mordaunt in putting themselves forward to become the next prime minister.

BBC Newscast's Adam Fleming is joined by former communications director to Boris Johnson, Will Walden, to discuss the possible contenders and whether Johnson could be eyeing up a return.

Catch up with all the latest here on BBC Sounds.

Megan Fisher
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Despite spending only 45 days in the job before resigning, Liz Truss is set to be offered the same package all ex-prime ministers have received - so what's included?

Public allowance

All former prime ministers are able to claim the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), currently set at a maximum of £115,000 per year.

It's designed to fund ongoing public duties like office costs, salaries for staff, or travel to events where they are appearing in their capacity as an ex-prime minister.

There is also a severance payment, which amounts to a one-off payment of 25% of the annual salary for the post that ministers have left - for prime ministers it's about £19,000.

Security

For obvious reasons, we don't know a huge amount about the security operation that could be put in place for Truss.

But previous prime ministers are known to have continued to receive security after leaving office.

Former PMs are also entitled to a chauffeur-driven government car for protection.

Read the full story here.

Nominations to succeed Truss as the next Conservative Party leader and PM will close at 14:00 BST on Monday 24 October.

To enter, candidates will require at least 100 nominations - in the last contest only 20 nominations were needed.

As there are currently 357 Tory MPs, a maximum of three candidates will be able to progress.

Here's how it’ll work:

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

All day yesterday, Conservative MPs were setting out who they are backing to become the UK's next prime minister - and we can expect more of this today.

Penny Mordaunt is the only candidate to confirm they are running so far, but that hasn't stopped MPs speaking up for others. A few them shared their thoughts on Newsnight last night.

Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith, who's backing Boris Johnson to be next the party leader and prime minister, said the reason Johnson has not formally declared his campaign is because "he's probably waiting to see whether he felt he'd got the support... I'd say he's certainly up for it".

Rishi Sunak backer, Conservative MP Craig Williams, said Sunak will likely respond to calls to run for leader "in the coming hours or days... there are clearly over 100 colleagues publicly declaring parliamentary support."

Declaring her run earlier, Penny Mordaunt, the current leader of the House of Commons, said she had been encouraged by colleagues.

One Tory MP who has publicly backed her is Bob Seely who said: "I think we owe the country a collective responsibility to apologise" adding that he believes Mordaunt has the best chance of providing "unity and leadership" within the Tory Party.

We visited Bridgnorth in Shropshire on Friday to get the opinions of people in the Ludlow constituency.

Sitting in a local cafe, Tory councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knights says she's been through every emotion in the last few weeks: "From anger to frustration to despair... and yesterday a sense of relief."

Local pub landlord Andy Corfield says at the moment his vote is "floating". Butcher Mike Pearce says the Conservatives have got to "buck their ideas up".

Image source, Getty Images

The political situation in the UK has clearly had a bit impact on the markets, and now the ratings agency Moody's has lowered its outlook from "stable" to "negative".

Rating agencies, in essence, rate a country on the strength of its economy.

It affects how much it costs governments to borrow money in the international financial markets. In theory, a high credit rating means a lower interest rate (and vice versa).

Moody's said there were two "drivers" behind its decision to change the UK's economic outlook.

It said the first was "the increased risk to the UK's credit profile from the heightened unpredictability in policymaking amid a volatile domestic political landscape".

The rating's agency said it viewed the government's mini-budget, the reversal of the majority of the policies in it, and the change in prime minister as a "continuing reflection of the weakening predictability of fiscal policymaking seen in previous years".

Read the full story here.

Nomia Iqbal
BBC News, onboard BA flight to London

The flight is full and passengers are sitting reading, watching the latest movies on screen…and amongst them is one very recognisable former PM who could possibly become PM again.

Boris Johnson has kept a low profile since resigning six weeks ago and continues to move quietly as he makes his way back home to the UK from his holiday in the Dominican Republic.

Even his arrival at airport was shrouded in secrecy, but then he eventually took his seat in economy alongside his wife and children.

Some passengers were amazed to see him there. A few who tried to take selfies were stopped from doing so by his sizeable security team that surround him, including Met police officers.

A man and woman a few seats down look totally bemused: “It’s just a bit mad…it’s made our flight home less boring. We want to try and see him before we get off in London.”

How do they feel about his return to office? “I’d rather an election.”

Boris Johnson was pictured last night flying home from his holiday in the Dominican Republic, after reports that he planning to join the Conservative leadership contest.

A Sky News reporter shared a photo of the former PM on the plane. He is due to arrive in London this morning.

A BBC reporter who was also on the flight said some passengers who tried to take selfies were stopped from doing so by his sizeable security team.

The leadership race makes the front page in the majority of Saturday's papers.

The Daily Express reports that Boris Johnson has declared he's "up for it" as he prepares to launch an "extraordinary political comeback".

The Daily Telegraph says Rishi Sunak is pushing towards a "coronation" in the Tory leadership race by securing the majority of MPs as Boris Johnson backers began warning of a stitch-up.

Penny Mordaunt has told the paper that she promises a government of all the talents and puts a Whitehall shake-up at the heart of her Tory leadership pitch.

The Daily Mirror says Boris Johnson has been plotting a return as prime minister "in a move that could split the Tories".

Read more of today's newspaper headlines here.

Image source, PA Media

MPs have been understandably quiet overnight, but here's how things stand at the moment...

Rishi Sunak is close to reaching the 100 MP nominations needed to enter the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister.

The ex-chancellor has 93 endorsements from Tory MPs so far, though a campaign source said he had already reached 100.

Former leader Boris Johnson, second with 44 backers, is poised to enter the contest to succeed Liz Truss and is flying back from a Caribbean holiday.

Penny Mordaunt was the first to declare, counting 21 supporters so far.

Neither Sunak nor Johnson have officially launched their campaigns, but this has not stopped backers declaring their support.

We'll be checking in on the numbers as the day gets going.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Another day of political excitement beckons as the race to be Tory leader - and the next prime minister - heats up.

We're expecting Boris Johnson back in the UK later this morning - will he say whether he intends to run or not?

And we haven't heard anything from Rishi Sunak yet either, although he's out in front in terms of the number of public backers he's clocked up.

Penny Mordaunt is the only person so far to say she'll run - will we hear more from her today about what she would bring to the job?

Stick with us as we navigate the twists and turns of this dramatic episode in British politics.

We are going to pause our live page coverage of the Tory leadership contest.

More news and developments are almost certain to happen over the weekend and we'll bring you the latest.

Today's coverage has been brought to you by Alex Therrien, James Harness, Marita Moloney, Dulcie Lee, Laura Gozzi, Aoife Walsh, Andre Rhoden-Paul, Jo Couzens, Nathan Williams and Thomas Mackintosh.

There are now less than 63 hours left to make the ballot to be Britain's next prime minister.

So far, only one candidate has declared. Here's the latest:

• That one person to officially put their name forward is Penny Mordaunt
• Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak currently has the most support of Tory MPs having reportedly hit a century of public parliamentary backers. A short while ago Tobias Ellwood claimed to be the 100th to support a Sunak nomination
• Sunak currently has the backing of former Cabinet members Matt Hancock, Oliver Dowden and Sajid Javid
• Rumours have been increasing all day of Boris Johnson making an extraordinary return to Downing Street
• Dozens of MPs - including several Cabinet ministers - have publicly backed the idea of Johnson returning

• However neither Sunak or Johnson have officially announced their intention to stand in the race to succeed Liz Truss
• Nominations for the next Tory Party leader close at 14:00 BST on Monday afternoon
• If there is only one candidate then they will be the next prime minister, however if there is more than one it will be whittled down to a race between two candidates with the most MPs backing them
• Should the contest be between two, then there will be one private hustings event and the ballot will be open to the wider Tory membership who will vote online
• The Tory Party hope to choose its third leader this year by no later than next Friday

British politics rarely troubles the front pages of international media.

But in the last few days, all eyes have turned towards Liz Truss's short tenure in Number 10.

"A textbook example of what happens when political ideologues are let off the leash, allowed to shut out anyone with opposing views and given the keys to the kingdom," argues Rob Harris in Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, external.

"Britain ruled India for 200 years, but see the twist of fate," says an anchor on India's Aaj Tak TV channel.

Closer to home, France's Le Monde points the finger at Brexit, asking:

The UK and its institutions have traditionally been revered on the continent. But its parliament has been a "madhouse" since the Brexit vote, says German paper, Die Welt.

But among the gloom and criticism, there are some positives.

In the Middle East, some commentators contrast Truss's decision to resign favourably with the reluctance of leaders in the Arab world to step down.

"This is the difference between the courage of the leader appointed through elections and who respects [their] people, and the military man who comes atop a tank and scares the people with weapons," says Egypt's Al-Masriyun newspaper editor.

Read more on the international media's reaction to the UK's political turmoil here.

Jonathan Blake
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Rishi Sunak has now received the public backing of 100 MPs in the contest to become Conservative leader, sources on his campaign have told the BBC.

The former chancellor has not yet formally declared his candidacy in the contest.

Prospective candidates need 100 nominations from Tory MPs in order to enter a possible first ballot.

The BBC's current tally of confirmed backers for Sunak is at 86.

Tobias Ellwood claims to be Rishi Sunak's 100th supporter - if he is, that would mean the former chancellor has already passed the threshold for nominations to enter a possible first ballot in the race.

A campaign source has also told the PA news agency that Sunak has reached the magic number.

The BBC has been keeping a tally of MPs who have either publicly supported Sunak or indicated to the BBC that they back him. That figure is currently at 84.

Other Tories who have in the last few moments said they're backing Sunak include former health secretary Matt Hancock and Tom Tugendhat.

Of course, we still have no official announcement from Sunak about his intention to run.