Blow to leader bid as Ellwood loses whip

BORIS Johnson dealt a blow to Penny Mordaunt’s campaign yesterday as he stripped her supporter Tobias Ellwood of the Tory whip.

This meant Mr Ellwood will no longer be able to take part in the Conservative leadership contest, losing Miss Mordaunt a crucial vote.

It came as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss closed the gap on Miss Mordaunt to just six points behind her.

Mr Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, had the whip suspended after he failed to support the Government in a confidence vote on Monday night.

He claimed he was unable to travel back from a meeting with the president of Moldova because of ‘unprecedented disruption’. But a Tory source said: ‘Other Conservative MPs cancelled foreign trips, left poorly relatives, and one MP’s mother died on the morning of the vote, and still attended and voted.’

Mr Johnson’s move prompted speculation he was attempting to help Miss Truss to second place as it was announced before the penultimate round of voting by Tory MPs yesterday afternoon.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, a loyal ally of Mr Johnson, wrote on Twitter: ‘This is wholly untrue and frankly utterly ridiculous. Every single MP of every party is under no illusion regarding the price to be paid in not voting during a Gov[ernment] confidence motion.’ MPs voted 349 to 238, majority 111, to support the motion stating that the Commons has confidence in the Government.

A Conservative source said 11 other Tory MPs who appeared on a ‘no vote recorded’ list with Mr Ellwood – but did not have the whip suspended – were appropriately paired with other MPs for the purpose of the vote, giving them a valid excuse not to take part.

Mr Johnson called the confidence vote after Labour launched its own challenge to try to force the Prime Minister to leave office immediately.