Mordaunt throws her hat in the ring in the race for No 10

Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Penny Mordaunt has become the first candidate to throw her hat into the ring in the race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister, with a pledge to re-unite the bitterly divided Tory Party.

The leader of the house – who finished third in the last leadership election – said she had been encouraged by the support she had received from fellow Conservative MPs.