Cameron favourite to lead Conservatives

DAVID CAMERON emerged as strong favourite to defeat David Davis for the Tory leadership after Liam Fox was yesterday eliminated in the final ballot of MPs.

Mr Cameron, who topped the poll with 90 votes, and Mr Davis, second with 57, will now go into the final postal ballot of the entire 300,000-strong party membership.

Dr Fox, who was third with 51 votes, drops out.

The vote seals Mr Cameron's position as the overwhelming favourite to succeed Michael Howard as party leader.

He boosted his total by 34 compared to his first round tally of 56.

In contrast, Mr Davis saw his support continue to slide dropping by 11 votes compared to his total of 62 in the first ballot.

He is now likely to face an uphill battle if he is to win the final ballot of the party members.

A YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph of ordinary party members showed 59% wanted Mr Cameron as leader compared to just 15% for Mr Davis.

The result sparked immediate speculation that some Cameron supporters had voted for Mr Davis to knock out Dr Fox.

However the shadow Home Secretary backers were swift to point out that 55% of the parliamentary party had not voted for Mr Cameron.

He yesterday explicitly denied having used class A drugs as an MP.

It is the first time the 39-year-old "young pretender" to the Tory crown has strayed from his line that he would not discuss what he regards as a private issue.

But it will inevitably revive speculation over whether the shadow education secretary indulged in drugs such as cocaine prior to his entry into Parliament in 2001.

Presenter Alex Thomson asked him: "If I asked you if you'd snorted cocaine as an MP, you'd therefore say 'no', wouldn't you?"

Mr Cameron responded: "That's right, but please, I mean, I think we've dealt with this issue ..."

Thomson: "So that's 'no'?"

Cameron: "I've absolutely answered your question.

Thomson: "Say 'no'."

Cameron: "I've just said 'no'."

Mr Davis, speaking outside Parliament, said: "There's a long time to go in this contest yet, still another six weeks. I intend to fight for my beliefs.

"I'm going to start the process by going to my old University of Warwick tomorrow to carry to members of the party and others my beliefs an opportunity society, in hope for Britain, in changing Britain to improve lives, and particularly to address the issue of reaching those parts of Britain that the Conservative Party hasn't reached for too long."