Trade minister consolidates second place behind Sunak as second vote narrows field to five
Penny Mordaunt was handed another key boost in the race to make the final two of the Conservative leadership race, with votes putting her in pole position to take on the frontrunner, Rishi Sunak, and the outsider Suella Braverman being eliminated.
Sunak, the former chancellor, is still the frontrunner and added 13 new supporters but Mordaunt pulled away from the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, who added fewer MPs to her tally despite a high-profile launch on Thursday.
