Theresa May leaves No 10 before taking a strong lead in the Tory leadership contest. She claimed to be the only candidate who was able to unite the party Jack Hill/The TimesTheresa May’s supporters were last night accused of seeking to rig the Tory leadership ballot by throwing their weight behind Michael Gove. The claim was levelled by Andrea Leadsom’s backers as they sought to explain the justice secretary’s better-than-expected result, which keeps him in the race for the final run-off. Mrs May promised “no backroom deals” when she started… “It shows May’s crowd want to face Gove in the members’ ballot and that they fear Andrea,” said one senior Conservative figure shortly after the results were announced of the first round of voting by MPs, who must select two candidates.

Source: The Times July 05, 2016 19:42 UTC