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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Rishi Sunak is set to become the next British Prime Minister after Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the Tory leadership race.
Mordaunt dropped out of the race after struggling to reach the 100 members of parliament (MPs) threshold to trigger a vote by members of the party.
Mordaunt said she is proud of the campaign she ran but Sunak has her full support
“Our Party is our membership. Whether we are elected representatives, activists, fundraisers or supporters. We all have a stake in who our leader is.
“These are unprecedented times. Despite the compressed timetable for the leadership contest it is clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today. They have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country.
“Members should know that this proposition has been fairly and thoroughly tested by the agreed 1922 process.
“As a result, we have now chosen our next Prime Minister. This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party. Rishi has my full support.
“I am proud of the campaign we ran and grateful to all those, across all sides of our party, who gave me their backing. We all owe it to the country, to each other and to Rishi to unite and work together for the good of the nation. There is much work to be done,” she said.
Sunak, the ex-chancellor, gained the support of well over half of Tory MPs and he will become the UK’s first British-Asian Prime Minister.
Announcing there was just one person with the backing of 100 MPs, 1922 Committee chairman, Sir Graham Brady, confirmed that the new Tory leader, Sunak, will address MPs later.