Rishi Sunak has become the first to receive 100 public endorsements from Tory MPs – enough to meet the threshold for nominations in the leadership race.
The news came before a source close to Boris Johnson claimed he had also reached the threshold to reach the ballot, although this has yet to be verified.
The winner of the contest will replace Liz Truss as Britain’s prime minister and become the country’s third leader this year.
If members are required to vote on the top two contenders, the new leader will be chosen by Friday 28 October.
Should Tory MPs coalesce around one candidate, however, the contest will be over on Monday.
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The second leadership contest in three months got underway on Thursday after the extraordinary resignation of Ms Truss, who was forced from office 44 days into her tenure after a seismic few weeks in Westminster in which her tax-slashing mini-budget crashed and burned.
Lord Frost, a former Brexit minister and close ally of Boris Johnson, called on his party colleagues to back Mr Sunak.
The Tory peer tweeted: “Boris Johnson will always be a hero for delivering Brexit.
“But we must move on. It is simply not right to risk repeating the chaos and confusion of the last year.
“The Tory Party must get behind a capable leader who can deliver a Conservative programme. That is Rishi Sunak.
“As I wrote in July: ‘(Rishi) would be a very able prime minister. He understands the issues, can work the machine, and is a decent guy to boot. He would mark a big change in ‘feel’ from the Boris years.’
“That’s what we now need. Let’s get behind Rishi.”
Mr Sunak won the backing of Sajid Javid, his predecessor as chancellor who backed Ms Truss in the last race and Mr Johnson in 2019.
Mr Javid said Mr Sunak has the “values our party needs” to help them “move on from the mistakes of the past”.
He also had the backing of former minister Johnny Mercer, who argued he could not put himself or his constituents through another Johnson administration after the “terrible” lows last time.
“Boris is a friend of mine, I love him to bits, he’s a great guy, but I just don’t think I can put myself through that again. I don’t think I can ask my constituents to, I don’t think I can ask my staff…” he told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme.
“I love Boris to bits, and he’s got amazing qualities for this country, but it is now time for serious, competent, straight-forward and values-based governance.”
Two people have died and more than one million people evacuated after a storm bearing down on the Philippines intensified into a super typhoon and made landfall on Sunday.
Fung-wong started battering eastern and central parts of the country, causing power outages, and forcing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to declare a state of emergency.
One person drowned in Catanduanes and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under the debris of a collapsed home in Catbalogan City, officials said.
Image: A satellite image shows Storm Fung-wong, which has intensified into a super typhoon. Pic: CSU/CIRA & JMA/JAXA/Handout via Reuters
Image: A man walks in the rain with an umbrella as Typhoon Fung-wong approaches, in Cauayan, Isabela, Philippines. Pic: Reuters
Image: Evacuations under way in Quezon province. Pic: Philippine Coast Guard via AP
Image: An evacuation centre in Manila. Pic: Reuters
Packing sustained winds of 115mph and gusts of up to 140mph, Super Typhoon Fung-wong made landfall in Aurora province in central Luzon.
Those living in high-risk villages in northeastern provinces were told to evacuate, including in Bicol, a coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr warned Fung-wong could affect a vast expanse of the country, including the capital Manila, and Cebu, the central province hit hardest by the deadly Typhoon Kalmaegi just days ago.
More than 200 people were killed in the earlier typhoon, and around 100 are still missing.
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0:46
Filipinos stranded on roofs amid Typhoon floods
Mr Teodoro Jr urged residents to heed evacuation orders, warning refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.
“We ask people to pre-emptively evacuate so that we don’t end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coast guard personnel at risk,” he said in a public address.
More than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong, the Office of Civil Defence said.
Image: The projection of the route that will be taken by Super Typhoon Fung-wong by Japan’s national weather agency. Pic: JMA
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In Isabela in northern Luzon, dozens of families were sheltering at a basketball court repurposed as an evacuation centre.
“We’re scared,” said Christopher Sanchez, 50, who fled his home with his family. “We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.”
Nearly 400 domestic and international flights have been cancelled, according to the civil aviation regulator.
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1:02
Deadly tornado tears through southern Brazil
Deadly tornado in Brazil
Meanwhile, a powerful tornado ripped through the southern state of Parana in Brazil – killing at least six and injuring more than 750 people, state officials said on Saturday.
The tornado left a trail of destruction, downing trees, overturning vehicles and damaging buildings.
Roads were also blocked and power lines damaged, with authorities saying around 1,000 people were displaced,
“We will continue to assist the people of Parana and provide all the help needed,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X.
The UK is deploying a specialist Royal Air Force team to help defend Belgium’s skies following a series of sightings of “rogue” drones, the defence secretary and his military chief have revealed.
The ground-based unit will be equipped with kit that can track and take down unmanned aerial systems.
It is not yet clear who is responsible for the drone incursions, which forced the country’s main airport near Brussels to close temporarily and have also impacted Belgian military bases.
However, there are suspicions that they could be linked to Russia.
Other NATO nations have also experienced similar problems, including Denmark and Germany.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, said his Belgian counterpart had called him to request British support.
Image: Queen Camilla looks at counter-drone equipment during a visit to RAF Leeming, Northallerton, in September 2024. Pic: PA
“I had my Belgian opposite number – the chief of the defence staff – in touch with me this week, seeking our help to track and potentially defeat the drones,” he said.
“We agreed with the defence secretary on Friday that we would send our people and our equipment into Belgium to help them with the current problem they have got there.”
Image: Queen Camilla, who is an honorary air commodore, inspects counter-drone equipment. Pic: PA
John Healey, the defence secretary, said: “When our NATO allies call, we step up. Belgium requested urgent support to counter rogue drone activity at their military bases, so I’ve directed a small team of RAF specialists to deploy immediately.
“As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace.”
The RAF team is trained and equipped to combat drones.
Three people have died after they were swept into the sea off the coast of Tenerife during treacherous weather, officials said on Sunday.
Strong waves pulled them into the Atlantic Ocean during a tidal surge on Saturday.
A man who had fallen into the water at Charco del Viento, a rocky beauty spot in the north of the island not far from Icod de los Vinos, was airlifted to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival, Spanish media reported.
In a separate incident, a man was found floating off Cabezo beach in El Medano in the south of the island.
Lifeguards and paramedics were unable to resuscitate him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A woman suffered a heart attack and died when a wave swept several people into the sea at Puerto de la Cruz in northern Tenerife. Three people were seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
The victim was a 79-year-old Dutch woman, according to El Dia.
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The Spanish newspaper reported the deceased at Charco del Viento was a 43-year-old man from La Orotava, a town in northern Tenerife, while the identity of the man who died at Cabezo beach had not been released.
Around 15 people were injured in four different incidents along the coast of the island of Tenerife on Saturday, according to emergency services.
Authorities had warned people of a tidal surge and strong winds, advising them not to walk along coastal paths and avoid putting themselves at risk by taking photos and videos of the rough seas.
The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the west coast of Africa that includes Tenerife, are on alert for coastal hazards, officials said.