Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt final two as MPs edge closer to Downing Street - as it happened

Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach, has said he is looking forward to meeting the next British prime minister, but warned the Withdrawal Agreement would not be reopened.

"There are a number of things which we have very much agreed and this was the outcome of my discussion with [Michel] Barnier and his taskforce today," he said.

"First of all is that there will be European unity, that negotiations can only happen between the EU and UK in the EU - we're not going to allow negotiations to be moved to an intergovernment level in any way.

"That the Withdrawal Agreement is not going to be re-opened, but we are willing to consider amendments to the joint Political Declaration. And if there is no Withdrawal Agreement, then there is no transition period for the United Kingdom."

Asked about comments made by Mr Johnson on the implementation period, Mr Varadkar said: "There's no Withdrawal Agreement without a backstop and there's no implementation period without a Withdrawal Agreement."

On a further Brexit extension, Mr Varadkar warned: "There's very much a strong view across the European Union that there shouldn't be any more extensions.

"While I have endless patience, some of my colleagues have lost patience, quite frankly, with the UK and there's enormous hostility to any further extension.

"So, I think an extension could only really happen if it were to facilitate something like a general election in the UK or perhaps even something like a second referendum if they decided to have one.

"What won't be entertained is an extension for further negotiations or further indicative votes: the time for that has long since passed."

Ruth Davidson has announced her support for Michael Gove after her preferred candidate, Sajid Javid, fell out of the Tory leadership race.

Ms Davidson said she was sad to see Mr Javid exit the contest.

The Scottish Tory leader told STV news she hopes Mr Gove will reach the final two and confirmed she would be backing him to win the keys to Number 10.

"I stuck with Saj right the way through the contest, despite very flattering phone calls from all the other runners and riders trying to prise me away at various points," Ms Davidson said.

"But I stuck with Saj, I thought he was the best person for the job. We saw his qualities throughout this contest, he's grown within the contest. I'm very sad he's gone out today."

She added: "In terms of the people who are left, I hope very much to see Michael in the final two and he'll have my support."

Here's our full story, by Andrew Woodcock, on the result of the latest Tory leadership ballot

Jeremy Hunt has urged his colleagues to "choose me for unity over division" and pledged to "put Boris through his paces" if he makes it to the next stage of voting.

It's easy to forget, but Theresa May (remember her?) is in Brussels today for a European Council meeting at which EU leaders will discuss who should become the next presidents of the Council and the European Commission.

Arriving at the meeting, she says:

"This EU Council meeting is going to be discussing important issues - some of the great challenges that we face across Europe and indeed more widely.

"Climate change will be one of the issues we're looking at, external relations as well. And of course there will be some questions about the presidencies of European institutions into the future.

"Of course we will be looking as we leave the European Union to maintain a close and deep partnership with the European Union in the future."

Voting in the final round of the ballot of Tory MPs is now in full swing.

Rory Stewart, who was eliminated from the contest yesterday, leaves the voting room without tellling journalists who he is backing in the leadership contest, insisting it’s a “secret”.

Boris Johnson has just been in to vote. He leaves without making any real comment, responding to journalists' questions about whether he was engaging in "dark arts" by mumbling: "No no no".

Jeremy Hunt is all smiles as he goes into the Commons committee room to cast his vote. 

He says:

"We are at the point where not much more can be done - I'm quietly confident."

Members of Boris Johnson's team have denied that there is any orchestrated campaign to 'lend' Jeremy Hunt votes in order to keep Michael Gove off the ballot.

One MP tells The Independent:

"If anyone is doing that it's not being orchestrated by us. I don't think many will: keeping Boris above 50 per cent [of votes from MPs] is an important target. If you start playing games you risk something going wrong."