Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt and Fareham MP Suella Braverman both one step closer to being prime minister as they move to the next round of Conservative Party leadership contest

Penny Mordaunt in Downing Street, London. Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

The first round of voting – which required contenders to secure the votes of at least 30 Tory MPs – saw Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt gain 67 votes, Fareham MP Suella Braverman gain 32, former chancellor Rishi Sunak on 88, foreign secretary Liz Truss on 50, Kemi Badenoch on 40, and Tom Tugendhat on 37.

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Mr Zahawi along with Mr Hunt, who has held the offices of health and foreign secretary, both failed to get the 30 votes required to get to the next stage.

Mr Zahawi, brought in by Mr Johnson after Mr Sunak’s resignation, got 25 – and Mr Hunt only 18.

Ms Mordaunt said all the supportive messages she had received had meant ‘a great deal’ to her.

The trade minister said: ‘Thank you to everyone who has supported my campaign – whether you came to my launch or interacted on our website. Thank you so much for all the wonderful messages.’

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the Conservative 1922 committee overseeing the contest, read out the results in a crowded Committee Room 14 in the House of Commons.

Subsequent voting from Thursday will eliminate the least popular candidate until two are left.

Conservative Party members will have the final say to decide the winner from the last remaining two candidates.