Tory leadership contest: Boris Johnson agrees to TV debate under intense pressure from rivals, as Matt Hancock bows out of race
Health secretary’s move leaves just six candidates as Channel 4 head-to-head poised to happen without frontrunner
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Your support makes all the difference.Matt Hancock has dropped out of the Tory leadership race amid rumours the remaining contenders will unite to stop Boris Johnson becoming prime minister.
The health secretary announced his decision to withdraw hours after issuing a joint statement with Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, and Rory Stewart to compel the frontrunner in taking part in a televised debate before the next vote.
Mr Johnson bowed to pressure to take part in the BBC debate on Tuesday but he signalled he would refuse to take part in the first clash, hosted by Channel 4 on Sunday.
See below for what was our live coverage.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Tory leadership contest.
Seven candidates remain following the first vote on Thursday. Boris Johnson received 114 votes, well ahead of his nearest rival Jeremy Hunt on 43. Michael Gove was third with 37.
Andrea Leadsom, Mark Harper and Esther McVey were eliminated after failing to win 17 or more votes from MPs.
The next vote is scheduled to take place on 18 June, with further ballots on 19 and 20 June to reduce the field until only two remain. Mr Johnson is most likely to be one of those two, but the other is far from certain. The six other contenders are now vying to claim the mantle of the “stop Boris” candidate, writes political editor Andrew Woodcock.
Boris Johnson has faced criticism for ducking interviews with the media during his highly stage-managed campaign. So far the frontrunner has taken just six questions from journalists.
His opponents have now ganged up by committing to appear on TV leadership debates on Sunday and Tuesday, with Channel 4 saying he will be represented by an empty chair if he refuses to take part.
Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid, Matt Hancock and Rory Stewart said in a joint statement:
The next Conservative Leader, and Prime Minister, will have the crucial task of uniting Britain behind a new vision - not only to deliver Brexit, but to define what comes next.
This leadership contest provides an important opportunity to debate, to shape and to define the ideas which will underpin those competing visions.
That is why we are committed to taking part in the Channel 4 televised debates this Sunday and the BBC programme next Tuesday.
Mr Johnson's spokesman has said his client is "in discussions" with broadcasters.
The frontrunner is also facing further criticism over his past remarks about Islamic dress.
Mohammed Amin, the chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, compared Boris Johnson to Adolf Hitler and said he will end his 36-year membership of the party if he becomes prime minister.
Mr Amin said that Mr Johnson, who won the first round of the Tory leadership race with nearly three times the votes of his closest rival, was not "sufficiently moral" to lead the country.
Last September Mr Johnson told Sky News that he backs televised debates for general elections.
"My feeling is that they are essential and the public does need to see interchange between their potential leader," he says.
Yesterday Rory Stewart vowed to “bring down” Boris Johnson as prime minister if he tries to suspend parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.
Mr Johnson has not ruled out suspending parliament in order to fulfil his pledge to take the UK out of the EU by 31 October, deal or no deal. But he is understood to have told MPs at a hustings earlier this week that he was not in favour of the controversial move.
However Mr Stewart, the international development secretary, has also said he could serve in a cabinet led by Boris Johnson.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If we ended up in a crisis, and I fear no-deal Brexit would be a crisis, and if he were to wish me to come back, which I think is a little doubtful given the slight acrimony of the last few weeks, then, of course, I'd be honoured to serve."
Jeremy Hunt has also appeared on the Today programme to accuse Boris Johnson of hiding from the media.
He said: "We can only have that debate if our front-runner in this campaign is a little bit braver in terms of getting out into the media and actually engaging in debates. Engaging in the TV debates."
Mr Hunt said he would take part in leadership TV debates, adding: "What would Churchill say if someone who wants to be prime minister of the United Kingdom is hiding away from the media, not taking part in these big occasions?"
Priti Patel, a supporter of Boris Johnson, told Today that his jokes Muslim women wearing the veil was "not to mock" them but "was a clear defence of women's rights to wear whatever they like".
That's a stark contrast to the approach taken by Mohammed Amin, chairman on the Muslim Conservative Forum, who said Mr Johnson failes the test of being "sufficiently moral to be prime minister."
There are many horrible people who have been popular. Popularity is not the test.
A lot of Germans thought that Hitler was the right man for them.
I am not saying Boris Johnson wants to send people to the gas chamber, clearly he doesn't.
He's a buffoon.
Education secretary Damian Hinds has also called on Boris Johnson to take part in the TV debates. "All candidates need to be properly scrutinised, put under some pressure," he tells Sky News. "This is not an ordinary job vacancy, its the prime minister of the country. The public want to see the full range of questions put to them."
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