Theresa May Wins Support After Gove 'Treachery'

Theresa May has won the backing of a number of senior Tories in the race to be the next Prime Minister - as Michael Gove prepares to make his pitch for the job.

With supporters of the one-time frontrunner Boris Johnson up for grabs for the five contenders, the Home Secretary secured endorsements from cabinet colleagues Michael Fallon and Patrick McLoughlin.

Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock - a close ally of Chancellor George Osborne - also came out for Mrs May on Thursday night.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove will make a speech later after his last-minute decision to enter the race stunned Westminster and forced his Vote Leave partner Mr Johnson to drop out.

Laying out his support for the Home Secretary, Mr Fallon said: "As Defence Secretary, I've worked closely with Theresa on security and she is the right person to steer Britain through the serious challenges we now face.

"Theresa is the best person to lead our exit from the EU so that we reduce immigration and regain sovereignty while protecting our hard won economic growth.

"She has the track record, the temperament and the commitment to unite both the party and the country behind a clear plan for our future."

Transport Secretary Mr McLoughlin, writing in The Sun, said Mrs May would be able to do the required deals in Brussels as the UK negotiated its exit from the European Union.

Suggesting Mrs May had "the 'it' factor", he said: "We know that the next prime minister needs to forge a deal from the EU as we shape our brighter future in the rest of the world. And her track record shows that when Theresa arrives in Brussels, Europe's bosses sit up and listen."

Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock threw his weight behind Mrs May's campaign, telling BBC Two's Newsnight: "I think we need somebody with a steady hand on the tiller who has got proven leadership credentials."

The Home Secretary also won the backing of the Daily Mail - the paper where Mr Gove's wife Sarah Vine is a columnist.

Mrs May is now the bookies' favourite in the race to succeed David Cameron, with Mr Gove the most prominent Leave backer in a field that also includes Stephen Crabb, Liam Fox and Andrea Leadsom.

Mr Gove will start setting out his ideas after revealing he decided to run late on Wednesday night after deciding Mr Johnson could not provide the unity or leadership to fully deliver on the referendum's Brexit verdict.

He said: "In the last four days I had a chance to see up close and personal how Boris dealt with some of the decisions we needed to make in order to take this country forward.

"During that period I had hoped that Boris would rise to the occasion because inevitably when you have a leadership election, people are tested, questions are asked of them, tests are set.

"Boris has formidable qualities but I saw him seek to meet and not pass those tests. I also thought ultimately, can I recommend to my friends that this person is right to be prime minister?"

Mr Gove has repeatedly denied having ambitions to be PM in the past and his decision to abandon Mr Johnson sparked a backlash from the former London mayor's supporters, some of whom accused him of a "betrayal" or "treachery".

MP Kwasi Kwarteng, who has now switched to back Mrs May, accused the Justice Secretary of indulging in "student politics" while Jake Berry said: "There is a very deep pit reserved in hell for such as he."