Rishi Sunak leads in the Conservative leadership poll to become the next prime minster and Conservative leader as Tom Tugendhat gets eliminated 

Rishi Sunak is in lead to become the next prime minister and Conservative leader after topping the third MPs vote.The latest round up of voting by Conservative MPs also resulted in Tom Tugendhat being eliminated from the race.WhilePenny Mordaunt reached second place, Liz Truss was placed at third and Kemi Badenoch fourth.Another round of voting will take place today and by Wednesday only two candidates will remain in the race, with the Conservative party then deciding the winner.

After his elimination, Tugendhat said in a statement: "I want to thank my team, colleagues and, most of all, the British people for their support.

"I have been overwhelmed by the response we have received across the country. People are ready for a clean start and our party must deliver on it and put trust back into politics."

Speaking about her votes, Mordaunt said: "My vote is steady and I'm grateful to my colleagues for all their support and thrilled to be in second place once more."

A source in Truss's campaign told the BBC: "We've narrowed the gap to Penny pretty considerably. Story is Penny going backwards. All to play for!"

And a source in Badenoch's campaign added: "Kemi is pleased to have taken it to the next vote. She has momentum over both Mordaunt and Truss. It's all to play for and Kemi is in it to win."