The third round of voting by Tory MPs in the race to replace outgoing party leader and former British prime minister Rishi Sunak took place today.

Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly surged to first from third in the latest round of voting for the UK Conservative leadership contest as the party’s Members of Parliament eliminated former Security Minister Tom Tugendhat.

Surge in leadership contest backing for former home secretary comes as defeated party eyes route back to power.

The former home secretary saw his support from fellow Tory MPs increase on the back of a strong performance at the party conference last week.

There will be a further round of voting on Wednesday when the final two contenders will be revealed ahead of a final vote by members in November.

One of the remaining four Tory leadership hopefuls will be knocked out of the race to replace Rishi Sunak on Tuesday as Conservative MPs vote to narrow the field to three. The parliamentary party will hold hustings in the morning, followed by a vote in the afternoon. Another vote will take place on Wednesday.

Tom Tugendhat knocked out of Tory leadership contest as James Cleverly sees huge boost to campaign - The former security minister failed to win over enough MPs to make it to the final three, with a fu