UK: Rory Stewart Drops out from Prime Ministerial Race

Four men are left in the race to be next prime minister after Rory Stewart was knocked out.

The international development secretary was eliminated after coming last with 27 votes, 10 fewer than last time.

He said his warnings about a no-deal Brexit “probably proved to be truths people weren’t quite ready to hear”.

Boris Johnson topped the vote again with 143 votes, 17 more than last time. Jeremy Hunt came second with 54, Michael Gove got 51 and Sajid Javid 38.

A fourth round of voting will take place on Thursday.

Mr Stewart started as a rank outsider in the race but gained support on the back of an unusual campaign strategy.

Touring the country for pop-up meetings, which were promoted and recorded on social media, he drew large crowds and won the backing of several senior cabinet ministers.

He had accused other candidates, including Johnson, of lacking realism over Brexit and making undeliverable promises.

After his elimination, he tweeted that he had been “inspired” by the support he received which had rekindled his faith and belief in politics.

Stewart’s vote tally fell from Tuesday - following a live BBC TV debate in which he summed up his own performance as “lacklustre”.

There have also been suggestions of tactical voting - “dark arts” as he called them - with candidates lending votes to others in order to help eliminate certain rivals.

One MP supporting Mr Stewart claimed he had been “let down” by “thieving, mendacious, lying” colleagues who had switched.

Following his exit, Stewart - MP for Penrith and The Border - told the BBC he was “disappointed” and believed his party “didn’t seem ready to hear his message” about Brexit and the need to seek out the centre ground.

He said his arguments during the campaign that an alternative Brexit deal was not on offer from the EU, and a no deal would be catastrophic, were “probably truths people were not quite ready to hear, but I still think they are truths”.

He defended his attacks on Johnson, saying the gravity of the situation meant it was right to warn that the frontrunner risked