Dominic Raab and Andrea Leadsom enter Tory leadership race and say they'd be open to no-deal Brexit

Battle for No 10 intensifies as number of runners reachers seven - with Michael Gove expected to join them

Dominic Raab and Andrea Leadsom have joined the race to become the next prime minister after Theresa May announced her resignation on Friday.

The former Brexit secretary and ex-Commons leader became the latest to announce their bids for the Tory leadership, joining foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, international development secretary Rory Stewart, health secretary Matt Hancock, former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, and former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey.

Setting out their stalls, both Mr Raab and Ms Leadsom said they would be prepared to order a no-deal Brexit in October if necessary.

Their entry came as the battle for No 10 started to turn bitter as international development secretary Rory Stewart launched a strongly-worded attack on front-runner Boris Johnson, comparing the former foreign secretary to Pinocchio.

Meanwhile, Matt Hancock said he was running for leader because the party needed to look to the future and attract younger votes, while international trade secretary Liam Fox refused to rule himself out as a candidate.

Mr Hunt told the Sunday Times: “If I was prime minister, I’d be the first prime minister in living memory who has been an entrepreneur by background.

“Doing deals is my bread and butter as someone who has set up their own business.”

Mr Hunt’s emphasis on his entrepreneurial past is being seen as swipe at Mr Johnson who reportedly once said “f*** business” in relation to Brexit.

In a reference to Brexit by way of mythical sea monsters, Mr Hunt said. “The real question is: who has got the experience to avoid the Scylla and Charybdis of no-deal or no Brexit. I’ve got very important experience in that respect.

“We can never take no-deal off the table but the best way of avoiding it is to make sure you have someone who is capable of negotiating a deal.”

Mr Raab told the Mail on Sunday he would prefer to leave the EU with a deal, but said the UK must “calmly demonstrate unflinching resolve to leave in October – at the latest”.

The MP for Esher and Walton, who resigned over Ms May’s Withdrawal Agreement, said: “The country now feels stuck in the mud, humiliated by Brussels and incapable of finding a way forward.

“The prime minister has announced her resignation. It’s time for a new direction.”

Ms Leadsom, whose resignation helped trigger Ms May’s dramatic resignation statement, told the Sunday Times if she was elected PM, the UK would quit the EU in October with or without a deal.

She said: “To succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to walk away.”

Ms Leadsom added that she would introduce a citizens’ rights bill to resolve uncertainty facing EU nationals, then seek agreement in other areas where consensus already exists, such as on reciprocal healthcare and Gibraltar.

Environment secretary Michael Gove is also preparing to launch a leadership bid as a self-styled ‘unity candidate’, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Mr Stewart, the international development secretary, launched a scathing attack on Mr Johnson’s no deal stance, insisting such a position was ”damaging and dishonest”.

He told the BBC: “I could not serve in a government whose policy was to push this country into a no-deal Brexit.

“I could not serve with Boris Johnson.”

In what is likely to be seen by many as a dig at Mr Johnson, the Mr Stewart tweeted: “The star name will not always be the best choice.

“There may be times when Jiminy Cricket would make a better leader than Pinocchio.”

Mr Hancock, the health secretary, said he would take a different approach to try and get Commons support for a Brexit deal than the one Theresa May used.

He said: “She didn’t start by levelling with people about the trade-offs.

“I think it is much, much easier to bring people together behind a proposal if you are straightforward in advance.”

Asked if Labour would force a Commons no confidence vote in the new prime minister when they take office, shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the Today programme: “Yes. Because we believe any incoming prime minister in these circumstance should go to the country anyway and seek a mandate.”

The new Tory leader will likely take over as prime minister at the end of July.

The timetable for the contest will see nominations close in the week of 10 June, with MPs involved in a series of votes to whittle the candidates down to a final two contenders. Tory party members will then decide who wins the run-off.