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Conservative MPs have voted in the first ballot of the party’s leadership contest, which will see at least one contender knocked out of the race.
Leadership hopefulls need at least 17 votes to go through to the second round, with anyone below this threshold automatically eliminated.
However, even if all the candidates meet the target, the one with the lowest votes overall will still have to leave the race.
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The result is expected to be announced at 1pm.
It comes after opposition MPs lost a critical vote to prevent a future Conservative prime minister from forcing through a no-deal Brexit.
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Interesting bit of gossip here:
Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, has confirmed he voted for Boris Johnson in the first round.
Mr Grayling said the former foreign secretary was an “integral part” of the Leave campaign and was the “right man to take us through the Brexit process to sort this out”.
He added: “He is also somebody who is internationalist, he is somebody who believes we should leave as good friends and neighbours.
“As you heard at the launch yesterday, he is somebody who says ‘I want to leave with a deal, I want to leave on good terms’, that’s the right thing.”
Mr Grayling said the UK had to continue to prepare for a no-deal Brexit and be willing to leave in October if “we haven’t reached that good partnership for the future”.
Ashley Cowburn has more on Sir Oliver Letwin’s comments earlier. Sir Oliver warned MPs have run out of possibilities to block a future prime minister from pursuing a no-deal Brexit.
Here’s more on Jess Phillips’ comments from earlier, in which claimed Boris Johnson “shuffles uncomfortably and looks at the ground” whenever she sees him.
Downing Street rejected a claim by former Tory Party chairman Baroness Warsi that Sajid Javid’s exclusion from the state banquet was linked to his Muslim background.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Categorically untrue. The prime minister is proud to have appointed Sajid Javid as the country’s first Muslim home secretary.”
Lady Warsi tweeted: “To use my own phrase from 2011 ‘Islamophobia has passed the dinner table test.”‘
MP Peter Bone, a teller for the ballot, said: “Turn out was close enough to 100 per cent.”
The first round of voting for the future Tory leader has now closed.
Philip Hammond, the chancellor, refused to say who he had voted for.
Downing Street said there was only a “limited number” of places available for ministers at the state banquet for Donald Trump, after Sajid Javid said it was “odd” he was excluded.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said a “large number” of ministers had expressed a wish to attend but were unable to do so.
“This was a state banquet hosted by Her Majesty the Queen so I don’t think it is appropriate to discuss in public who did or did not ask to attend,” the prime minister’s official spokesman said.
“As with any state banquet only a limited number of places are available to the government. A large number of ministers who expressed a wish to attend were not able to do so.”
Here is where all 10 Tory leadership race candidates stand on Brexit:
Labour MP Jess Phillips has launched an attack on Boris Johnson on Twitter: “I pass Boris Johnson in the corridors a lot. He shuffles uncomfortably and looks at the ground.
“On one occasion before the Tory conference in Birmingham, I said to him that I hope the Muslim women in my city show him how welcome he is there. Again he shuffled uncomfortably,” she claimed.
“He does not defend his position, he looks like a chastened child when ever I see him. He’s being told to say these things by a racist machine and believe me when I say that he is no big beast he can’t even take me looking at him in the eye. He’s a bullies patsy with no guts.
“I do not fear him as an opponent to be honest I pity him, because he doesn’t passionately believe in anything and his authenticity rubs off with even the slightest brushing. He’s a hollow icon who cannot even defend his words.”
She added: “If you think I’m being harsh on BJ you don’t have any Muslim women friends or family because mine have all been messaging me sadly this morning frightened for their country.”
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has said today “felt a bit like the morning of my wedding”.
“Something big is going to change but don’t quite know how it will unfold,” he tweeted.
Theresa May has refused to say who she voted for.
“That’s none of your business,” the prime minister joked as she left the committee room in the Commons where the ballot is being held.
Rory Stewart tweeted he has been re-reading Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s The Cure at Troy, and proceeded to recite it.
Asked who he voted for, Michael Gove, environment secretary and leadership contender said: “The best candidate.”
Esther McVey, a leadership candidate and former work and pensions secretary said: “I’m the outsider, I know that.”
Asked who she would urge her supporters to back if she is eliminated, Ms McVey said: “I’m not answering that yet.”
Asked who he thought would be eliminated today, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is backing Boris Johnson, said: “Mark Harper doesn’t seem in a very strong position.
“The bottom one goes and anyone under 5 per cent goes. So, it could be more than one who’s knocked out.”
The BBC’s Nick Eardley has a tally based on publicly declared support showing Boris Johnson is far ahead with the support of 83 MPs.
He is followed by Jeremy Hunt on 34 and Michael Gove on 32.
Sajid Javid and Matt Hancock narrowly passed the 17-vote threshold, but Rory Stewart, Mark Marper, Esther McVey and Andrea Leadsom fell below.
As MPs voted, Andrea Leadsom, a leadership contender and former leader of the House of Commons, said: “I’m feeling very positive and optimistic and hopeful that I will be getting enough support from colleagues to go through to the next round.”
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