Penny Mordaunt has rejected a call from Boris Johnson to withdraw from the Tory leadership race and back him, sources say, in another blow to his prospects of returning to Downing Street.
Sources close to the Commons leader told Sky News he had spoken to the former prime minister earlier today.
Several longtime Johnson allies, including Suella Braverman and Steve Baker, threw their support behind race leader Rishi Sunak on Sunday.
A blow for the former prime minister as the former ally backs Sunak, the latest policy
Mr Baker, the former head of the backbench Brexiteers, warned that a possible Johnson return would be a “guaranteed disaster”.
Although Johnson has not officially entered the race, his bid for Ms Mordaunt means he may not have the support of the 100 MPs he needs to go to a vote of party members.
Ms Mordaunt chose to stick with her own campaign and earlier insisted she was “in it to win it”.
Johnson also held talks with Sunak last night and was rumored to be discussing a possible leadership deal, but the meeting appears to have come to nothing.
Candidates must secure the support of 100 MPs by 2pm tomorrow to advance in the race.
Ms Mordaunt confirmed she was running on Friday and so far has 24 members publicly backing her, while Johnson has 59.
Both are well behind Sunak, the former chancellor, who had already reached the threshold before announcing he was running on Sunday, and who now has 142 followers.
If all three pass the first stage, Conservative MPs will vote for their preferred candidates.
The two most popular will go to a vote of party members, unless MPs unite behind a candidate.