Tory leadership debate - live: Boris Johnson challenged on ‘letterbox’ comments, as candidates quizzed on Brexit, tax cuts and climate change
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Your support makes all the difference.The remaining Tory leadership candidates have clashed over Brexit, tax cuts and public spending during a heated televised debate that saw Boris Johnson go head-to-head with his rivals for the first time.
The five contenders put forward different plans on Brexit, with Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt saying they would be willing to delay Britain's departure from the EU in order to secure a deal, while Mr Johnson and Sajid Javid said they would not. Rory Stewart promised never to allow a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Stewart also attacked his rivals for making promises he said they could not deliver, including on tax cuts. But they returned fire, with Mr Gove pushing him on his plan for public services.
Mr Johnson apologised for the offence caused by his previous comments about Muslim women but insisted they had been unfairly “escalated”, while Mr Hunt defended saying he agreed with the “sentiment” of Donald Trump's tweets about Sadiq Khan.
The debate followed the second round of voting by Tory MPs, which resulted in Dominic Raab being eliminated after failing to meet the threshold of 33 votes. Mr Johnson maintained a huge lead and Mr Stewart also increased his support, but Mr Javid only narrowly scraped through to Wednesday's third round.
See how the day unfolded below:
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Rory Stewart has said he was "never confident" but "always hopeful" he would make it through the second ballot.
He said he thought he had the 33 votes "if everybody does what they say", and one "very, very hard Brexiteer told me he was voting for me".
He added: "I'm trying to persuade Gavin Williamson - apparently he's lending votes, so I'm very keen that he's going to lend me 10 or 15 votes to glide through."
Asked about reports in the Daily Telegraph on allegations he was a spy, he said: "It struck that maybe somebody was getting a bit rattled."
Sajid Javid, the home secretary, said he was "quietly confident" he had the necessary 33 votes and he was "looking forward to the debate this evening".
Germany's EU affairs minister, Michael Roth, has warned Britain's next prime minister they will be unable to renegotiate the Brexit withdrawal agreement struck between Theresa May and the bloc, Jon Stone writes:
Dominic Raab also said he was "quietly" confident as he left the committee room where Tory MPs are voting.
Frontrunner Boris Johnson left the voting room smiling but did not respond to journalists' questions.
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said he was feeling "very confident" as he left the voting room.
He told waiting journalists he was the 242nd MP to cast their ballot.
Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said he was confident and he had gained some votes.
Theresa May has once again refused to identify who she voted for in the Tory leadership ballot.
"As I said last week, none of your business," the prime minister told reporters.
A poll in which a majority of Tory members said they would prefer Scotland to leave the UK rather than Brexit not happening is an "utter disaster" for Ruth Davidson, an MSP has said.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said the results show Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson has little authority within her party.
"The Tory Party has clearly gone off the deep end - with their Brexit obsession pushing the party further towards the extremes," he said.
"Tory members are so determined to deliver a damaging Brexit they are happy to watch our economy collapse and open the door of number 10 for Nigel Farage to take control of the UK.
"And far from prioritising the union, it's clear Scotland means so little to the members of the Conservative and Unionist Party that two-thirds are happy for Scotland to become independent if it secures Brexit.
"With this poll suggesting that almost a quarter of Tory members in Scotland would prefer to deliver Brexit for their membership down south even if it means an end to the union, it's becoming clearer that Ruth Davidson has little authority in her party in Scotland.
"This poll is an utter disaster for her and shows that her authority is seeping away at an incredible rate, leaving her increasingly isolated."
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