Rishi Sunak does not intend to stay as Conservative leader beyond the summer, allies have said, amid a split in the party over how long it should take to elect a new leader.
The party now faces the prospect of having to appoint an interim leader if the contest goes on for several more months, and several senior figures fear the hard-right populist Nigel Farage could position himself as de facto leader of the opposition if the battle drags on.
