Brexiteers demand top job for Dominic Raab as he is dumped from Tory leadership race

The Conservatives dumped the former Brexit Secretary as the hopefuls were whittled down to five in the second round of voting, with a third round set for this evening.

Boris Johnson confirmed his status as the favourite to be the next Prime Minister with a commanding victory, while Home Secretary Sajid Javid survived by a single vote.

Mr Johnson secured 126 votes – 80 ahead of his nearest rival Jeremy Hunt on 46, while Michael Gove came in third place on 41 votes, with Rory Stewart on 37.

Candidates needed 33 votes to remain in the race – the exact number picked up by Mr Javid, but Mr Raab’s hopes of replacing Theresa May in Downing Street were dashed after he secured just 30 votes.

With Mr Johnson appearing certain of a place in the final two, the contest has become a battle for the right to a spot alongside him in the ballot of 160,000 Tory members who will choose the next party leader and Prime Minister.

Responding to the result, Brexiteer and Conservative MP for Morley and Outwood Andrea Jenkyns – who supported Mr Raab’s leadership bid – said he had “fought an honest campaign, true to his convictions and fighting to deliver Brexit. But his talent deserves to be back in the Cabinet”.

She added: “We are rooting for you.”

Boris Johnson increased his lead among MPs by 12 votes – up from 114 in the previous round.

Vice-chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, Mark Francois, said: “It was great to see Boris going up again – that’s obviously encouraging.

“In a sense it’s a shame to lose Dominic Raab because he is an extremely capable politician.

“I hope whoever wins – and I hope it’s Boris – will find a good place for Dom in his Cabinet.”

A further vote will be held today to reduce the pack to four and tomorrow will see two candidates selected for the final ballot of Tory members, with frontrunner Mr Johnson almost certain to be one of them.

Addressing speculation that he might pull out of the race after coming in fifth place, a source close to Mr Javid said: “We are fighting tomorrow’s ballot.”

Ahead of the vote, tensions between candidates erupted onto social media, with Mr Javid’s ex-special adviser Nick King, lashing out at Mr Stewart’s camp, accusing them of targeting rival supporters and “urging them to vote for Rory”.

He added: “Saj’s dad was an immigrant. Saj went to his local comp and an FE College. Rory went to Eton and Balliol just like Boris.”

Mr Stewart – who has been forced to deny that he used to be a spy – made the most gains, increasing his support by 18 votes, up from 19 in the last round.

A campaign source said the extra support showed “his momentum is continuing to build”, and “he can now go all the way to the final two, giving the clear choice that members deserve”.

But it would appear unlikely that many supporters of the hard-Brexiteer Mr Raab will switch to Mr Stewart, so for his campaign to go further he will have to win over MPs from rival campaigns.

Environment Secretary Mr Gove picked up just four extra votes, but said he was “very pleased to have made it through and closed the gap to second”.

In an apparent warning to Tories about the prospect of Mr Stewart, who voted Remain in 2016, making it through onto the final ballot paper, Mr Gove stressed: “The final two should be Brexiteers who are able to take on Corbyn, unite the party and deliver Brexit.”