Surprise favourite Penny Mordaunt surged further in the Tory leadership vote today - as her anti-woke rival Suella Braverman was knocked out.
The Trade Minister earned 83 votes from Tory MPs, close behind ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 101 - and ahead of Liz Truss on 64.
Centre-right candidate Tom Tugendhat won just 32 votes, less than yesterday, while Kemi Badenoch, who is backed by Michael Gove and called for an end to cost-of-living payments, won 49. Ms Braverman, who ran a hard-right campaign vowing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and restrict benefits, won just 27, less than yesterday.
Five candidates will now go through to the next MPs’ ballot on Monday night - giving them a long weekend to flaunt their credentials, and MPs a long weekend to plot how supporters are redistributed.
While Rishi Sunak is still ahead, polls have claimed either Liz Truss or Penny Mordaunt could beat him in a vote of Tory members.
A Liz Truss supporter predicted the final two would start to shake out over the weekend - with candidates expected to be at TV debates on Friday and Sunday nights.
Urging the right to unite behind one candidate, they said: “People will have to make a decision about who they want in the final two. At the moment they’re playing games.”
There will be further ballots to knock out one candidate at a time until two remain for a final vote of 180,000 Tory members. The winner will become Prime Minister on September 6.
Despite losing five votes since yesterday and trailing behind the competition, a Tom Tugendhat campaign source insisted he will not be pulling out of the Tory leadership race. "Bring on the debates where Tom will shine," they said.
Rishi Sunak had been tipped for the top job but a string of bookies and projections have said Ms Mordaunt could come out on top.
The result comes after vicious infighting stepped up a gear between Tory rivals in an increasingly bitter race for the crown.
Liz Truss's campaign launched a scathing attack on her rival Penny Mordaunt, claiming she is not up to the job of Prime Minister.
Former Brexit minister Lord Frost, who is backing Ms Truss, claimed he had "grave reservations" about whether Ms Mordaunt was fit to be in No 10.
The Tory peer claimed she was had lacked a grasp of detail when she was his deputy, was unwilling to deliver tough messages to Brussels and that he had to ask Boris Johnson to replace her.
Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke - who is also backing the Foreign Secretary, added: "Lord Frost's warning is a really serious one. Conservatives - and, far more importantly, our country - need a leader who is tested and ready."
Their onslaught came after she took second place in the first round of voting by MPs on Wednesday, putting her in a prime position to make it through to the final ballot of party members.
A source on her campaign hit back: “Penny has nothing but respect for Lord Frost. He did a huge amount to assist our negotiations until he resigned from Government.”
Another Mordaunt campaign source said: “Colleagues could spend more time putting forward a positive case for their own candidates rather than bashing others.
“But some men just love blue on blue, dragging the party and our unity through the mud.”
Ms Truss, who told supporters at her campaign launch she wants a "united" party, publicly distanced herself from the attack.
“I certainly won’t be making any disparaging comments about my fellow candidates in the race," she said.
But she stressed her credentials to become PM, pledging she would be ready from "day one" with a Budget and Spending Review on her first day, despite the fact they take weeks to prepare.
She said she would reverse hikes to National Insurance and Corporation Tax in her first day on the job.
She said she wanted to lead an "aspiration nation" with low-tax zones in poorer parts of UK and tax breaks for those who take time off to care for kids.
Rishi Sunak remained ahead of the pack with the latest round of voting expected later today.
His campaign received a boost last night when former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt backed him after being eliminated from the race.
The former chancellor defended his economic plan which, unlike his rivals, does not include immediate tax cuts.
"I think our number one economic priority is to tackle inflation and not make it worse.
“Inflation is the enemy, it makes everybody poorer, and if we don't act to tackle inflation now it will cost families more in the long run, especially with mortgages.
“I will get taxes down in this Parliament, but I'm going to do so responsibly".
Fifth-placed Tom Tugendhat this morning admitted “I feel like a prom queen” as rival campaigns urged him to join them - but insisted “I’m still in this fight” and “I don’t quit.”
The 49-year-old, who still wears his old Army socks daily, gave a 45-minute press conference in front of a banner that read “TOM: A CLEAN START” but because he had blocked it, said: “TOM: A TART”.
He said his rivals were “very nice people - by and large” after right-wingers launched attacks on Rishi Sunak and surprise favourite Penny Mordaunt.
Asked about claims Ms Mordaunt was an unreliable minister he replied: “I’ve never worked with Penny so I simply can’t comment at all - I don’t know.” And asked if right-wing favourite Liz Truss was a good Foreign Secretary he said: “It’s quite hard to say because she hasn’t been there that long, to be honest. It’s very hard to judge.”
But he said criticism was “fair”.
“It’s not always easy but it’s fair because if you’re running for an office like this, I think it’s fair that those who know you express views,” he said. “This is a really short interview round for a hell of a big job.”
He admitted: “I’ve had some people who I thought were friends saying things that are not quite so nice about me.”
Mr Tugendhat urged his rivals to take part in TV debates and said he would have “loved” Jeremy Hunt ’s support after the knocked-out centrist instead backed Rishi Sunak, but said MPs were “advancing various agendas”.
