Watch: Boris Johnson’s government wins confidence with 349 votes
Boris Johnson has stripped the Tory party whip from senior MP Tobias Ellwood for his “failure to support” the government in Monday’s confidence vote.
As a result of the defence committee chair’s abstention, he will no longer be able to cast a vote in the Conservative leadership election - meaning Penny Mordaunt, who had Mr Ellwood’s backing, will lose a vote.
The long-time critic of Mr Johnson said he is “very sorry” to lose the whip, but argued he was unable to return from a meeting with the president of Moldova due to “unprecedented disruption”.
It comes as Tory MPs will vote again on Tuesday in the Conservative leadership bid, as the race for second place intensifies after Tom Tugendhat was knocked out.
Rishi Sunak remained the front runner with 115 votes, while Mr Tugendhat received just 31 votes from Conservative MPs in the third ballot.
Ms Mordaunt, who last week created a significant lead over Liz Truss, saw a dip in the vote share as she received 82 votes to foreign secretary’s 71, while Kemi Badenoch was at the bottom of the race with 58 votes.
