Priti Patel knocked out of Tory leadership contest

Former cabinet minister Priti Patel has been knocked out of the Conservative leadership contest in the first round of voting by Tory MPs.

The former immigration minister Robert Jenrick topped the poll of MPs with 28 votes followed by Kemi Badenoch on 22 votes.

Third was James Cleverly with 21, fourth was Tom Tugendhat with 17, fifth was Mel Stride with 16 and last was Dame Priti on 14.

Voting will continue in the coming weeks until there are two candidates left, leaving party members to pick one of them to be the new leader.

The winner will replace Rishi Sunak, who stood down as party leader after leading the Conservatives to their worst performance at a general election in July.

Another vote will be held next Tuesday to whittle the field down to four candidates before the party's annual conference at the end of September.

An intensive round of hustings and multiple votes will follow the conference from 8 October, lasting three days, until only two candidates are left.

Conservative Party members will then choose which of the final two candidates they want as the new leader, with the result announced on 2 November.

A few dozen Conservative MPs gathered in a Parliamentary committee room for the result of the first ballot, their numbers much depleted following July's election defeat.

As the home secretary in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, Dame Priti developed a reputation as a law-and-order Conservative.

Known for her tough stance on immigration, Dame Priti spearheaded the Conservative government’s flagship scheme to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

In her leadership campaign, she promised to unite the party, get it match fit for the next general election, and give members a greater voice.