Boris in pole position to be next PM after winning more than third of votes in first Tory ballot

Nicola Sturgeon, who has described the Conservative leadership contest as a “horror show,” took swiftly to Twitter to react to the news, posting a link to the SNP’s campaign for another independence vote. The First Minister has said that if Mr Johnson were to become the next PM, then support for Scottish independence would “sky-rocket”.

Three candidates failed to get the necessary 17 votes to go through to the next round and so were eliminated. They were: Andrea Leadsom, the former Commons Leader, who got 11 votes; Mark Harper, the former Immigration Minister, who got 10, and Esther McVey, the former Work and Pensions Secretary, who came last with nine.

The race is now on to see who can join Mr Johnson in the final round of two candidates. They will spend a month at hustings around the country trying to convince the 160,000 or so Conservative grassroots to vote for them. The new Tory leader and PM should be known by July 22.

In the first round, Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, came second with 43 votes. He was followed by Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, on 37, Dominic Raab, the former Brexit Secretary, on 27, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, on 23, Matt Hancock, the UK Health Secretary, on 20, and Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary, on 19.

The second round is due next Tuesday when the remaining seven candidates will need 33 votes to stay in the race. Two more votes in subsequent days are expected to whittle them down to the final two contenders.

The atmosphere outside Committee Room 14 as MPs began voting was filled with nervous tension. Mr Stewart was pacing the corridor, hoping to catch colleagues before they voted with one last plea to help get him over the line. It worked but only just.

Also spotted in the oak-panelled corridor were Ms Leadsom and Ms McVey but they failed to convince enough colleagues of their merits and they were both eliminated.

It was suggested that the 1922 backbench committee, overseeing the process, had decided to ban mobile phones in the committee room due to what was described as an “aggressive whipping operation” by Team Johnson. The unconfirmed claim was that MPs were urged to take a photo of their ballot paper to prove they had actually backed the former Foreign Secretary.

Sir Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister, who worked along Mr Johnson in the department nut who is supporting Mr Hunt, said: “Boris is a very high octane, high risk politician. It could all go very well. On the other hand, it could all blow up. Anything with Boris in Government is a helter-skelter, it’s a Big Dipper; it goes up and down.”

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, observed: “So a serial liar, racist and one of most incompetent ministers ever leads the poll in the #Toryleadership contest. Conservative MPs should hang their heads in shame.”

Mr Stewart responded to suggestions Mr Johnson might be willing to shut down Parliament to secure a Brexit on October 31.

He said: “I guarantee you, if he were to try, I and every other Member of Parliament will sit across the road in Methodist Central Hall and we will hold our own session of Parliament and we will bring him down because you do not, ever, lock the doors on parliament in this country, or in any other country with any respect in the world.”

Following the result, the candidates, successful or otherwise, thanked their teams and supporters.

Mr Johnson tweeted: "Thank you to my friends and colleagues in the Conservative & Unionist Party for your support. I am delighted to win the first ballot but we have a long way to go."

The Foreign Secretary also took to social media to express his delight at coming second. “We face a crucial choice: who can negotiate some better choices than the bad ones we face. The stakes have rarely been higher for our country. This serious moment calls for a serious leader," he declared.

A supporter, Penny Mordaunt, the Defence Secretary, claimed Mr Hunt was “attractive to many sides of the party because he's a serious individual”.

She added: “He's also set out a clear and realistic plan for how we're going to get the best Brexit possible for the country because we don't just have to do this, we have to do it really well, and that's why he's got my support."

Mr Gove insisted it was “all to play for” and said he was very much looking forward to the Channel 4 and BBC live debates. “Hope to see all other candidates there,” he added.

Mr Raab said he was “proud and honoured” to have had the support of so many colleagues, which had given him a “good base to build on”.

Mr Hancock, at 40 the youngest contender, tweeted: "Thanks so much for the fantastic support; terrific to have more votes from colleagues than I could have hoped for #letsmoveforward."

Mr Stewart said he felt “inspired” and was "absolutely over the moon" to have secured just enough votes to survive the first ballot.

"Remember, I had six declared votes and I have more than tripled that, so I'm really, really happy and candidates who started that contest with four times the number of declared votes as me are now almost level pegging with me,” declared the Scot.

A supporter, David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, said his Cabinet colleague was now the main challenger to Mr Johnson.

"He's really in with a chance and the momentum is with Rory. He's causing a stir. He's the one that looks like he can provide the real challenge to Boris,” added Mr Gauke.

Ms McVey, who was eliminated from the leadership contest, said she was pleased to have had a platform to make the case for “Blue Collar Conservatism,” a clean break from the EU and the need to invest money into schools, policing and a proper pay rise for public sector workers.

She said she would speak to the remaining candidates to see who was “best-placed to deliver on that programme” and added: “I hope that all Conservative MPs will unite behind whoever wins this contest, which is essential to prevent the disaster of a Marxist Government. Whoever becomes the new leader will certainly receive my support."

The first TV head to head involving the candidates will take place on Sunday evening on Channel 4. The next one, following another vote, will be held by the BBC next Tuesday evening.