Conservative MPs to begin voting in leadership race

BBC News says Tory MPs are to cast their first votes in the contest to replace Boris Johnson as party leader – and prime minister.

After nominations closed, the eight hopefuls took part in a hustings event in Parliament as part of efforts to secure support from their colleagues.

They have to secure 30 votes in the first round to stay in the race.

The candidates for leader are: Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat and Nadhim Zahawi.

Voting will start at 13:30 with a result expected at 17:00 BST.

Further votes will take place over the next few days in order to whittle the number of candidates down to two.

……………

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SHARE WTX NEWS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY:

Facebook – Please like our page

Twitter – Twitter updates available in English and Arabic. Please follow us and we would love to hear from you

Instagram – Follow our pages in English and Arabic