A source within Penny Mordaunt’s campaign team has texted Beth Rigby to say: “We have now passed 90. For the sake of the party, it’s important our members have their say.”
Only 25 Tory MPs have publicly backed the Commons leader – compared with 180 for Rishi Sunak.
We heard from Boris Johnson’s campaign last night, as he stood back from the race, that he’d had 102 backers – something commentators have questioned.
It will become clear over the coming hours whether Ms Mordaunt’s campaign is inflating the number to try to gain momentum, or whether the bookies and onlookers like George Osborne have got this completely wrong.
Source: Skynews