Next prime minister latest: Penny Mordaunt claims to have 90 MPs’ support with two hours to go

Nadine Dorries has suggested it is not “the end of Boris Johnson” after the former prime minister ruled himself out of the race for No 10.

The ex-Cabinet minister said “hours of conversations” took place between Mr Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt to agree on a unified solution, but the remaining candidates “declined to come together”, choosing to “go on their own path”.

She told Times Radio that Johnson supporters are “very keen that we have unity in the party” and will be “very keen to back a candidate to make that happen”.

Ms Dorries, a staunch Johnson ally, suggested Ms Mordaunt is not a serious contender, adding: “I don’t think, when you’re talking about Penny Mordaunt, you’re asking anyone to step back. I mean, Penny hasn’t really held a serious job in government. The fact that Penny asked Boris Johnson to step back for her, I thought was quite interesting.”

She said the ex-PM stepped back “for the right reasons”, insisting “that doesn’t mean it’s the end of Boris Johnson”.