Mr Barclay said in a statement that he “worked closely with him when I was chief secretary to the Treasury and I am convinced he has all the right qualities to take our country forward”. Mr Barclay, Boris Johnson’s former No 10 chief of staff, is the third senior minister to back Mr Sunak in the past 24 hours after Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, and Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, both expressed their support. Eight candidates are still in the running to replace Mr Johnson after nominations closed last night: Mr Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Taggedhut, Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaud, Jeremy Hunt, Nahim Zahawi and Suella Braverman. The first round of voting will be held this afternoon from 1.30 to 3.30 pm with the result announced at 5 pm. Any candidate who fails to secure the votes of 30 Tory MPs will be knocked out, with the next round taking place tomorrow. Follow the latest updates below.
