Tory leadership debate: Rory Stewart promises to rule out no-deal Brexit if he becomes Prime Minister

Rory Stewart promised to rule out a no-deal Brexit if he becomes prime minister as contenders battled it out during a fiery Tory leadership debate.

The candidate said it would not be possible to negotiate a new deal by October 31, leaving the existing Withdrawal Agreement as the only way out of the EU.

Speaking alongside his fellow contenders on the BBC debate programme, he continued to support Theresa May’s deal, claiming he was the “only person trying to find the key to the door.”

Mr Stewart said: "In the end, we're in a room with a door and the door is called Parliament, and I am the only person here trying to find the key to the door.

"Everybody else is staring at the wall shouting 'believe in Britain'.

"I would say to all these people on the platform who voted for the deal: take the shock of the European election, let's get on with it, let's vote it through, let's get it done.”

The heated debate comes after Dominic Raab was eliminated from the contest in the second round of votes.

Mr Johnson topped the second ballot, confirming his status as the favourite to replace Theresa May in Downing Street.

He warned of the “catastrophic loss of confidence in politics” that would come if the government failed to exit the European Union by the current October 31 deadline.

The former foreign secretary said: "We have already kicked the can down the road twice and I think the British people are getting thoroughly fed up."

The front runner in the battle for the Tory crown added: "Unless we get out on October 31, I think that we will all start to pay a really serious price."

Home Secretary Sajid Javid agreed with Mr Johnson that it was "fundamental" to get out of the EU by the October deadline and honour the result of the referendum. He said: "We have failed to act on those instructions and it is fundamental that it has to be by October 31."

He said: "We have got to learn from our mistakes. One of the mistakes we have made so far is by having this flexible deadline. If you don't have a deadline, you don't concentrate minds, and that also includes the minds of our European friends."

But Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove said a delay beyond October 31 may be necessary if a deal was within reach.

Mr Hunt said he would walk away without a deal if there was no prospect of agreement by October 31. But "if we were nearly there, then I would take a bit longer,” he added.

Mr Gove said he would be prepared to allow "extra time" if a deal was close. He said he was "upset" and "angry" that Brexit had not yet happened. "Because I started this, I will finish it," he added.