Andrea Leadsom '˜ready to quit Tory leadership race'

Reports suggested she would withdraw from the contest amid continued controversy over her motherhood remarks.

Allies of her rival Theresa May had questioned Mrs Leadsom’s suitability to be prime minister after the Tory leadership candidate appeared to suggest that being a mother gave her an advantage over her childless rival.

Mrs Leadsom, whose supporters included Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt, said she was “disgusted” by the way her comments had been presented and insisted that she believed “everyone has an equal stake in our society”, stressing that she did not want the issue of children to be a feature of the campaign.