Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will battle it out over the coming weeks to be the UK’s next prime minister.

The former chancellor and the Foreign Secretary finished in the top two places after five rounds of voting by Tory MPs, with Penny Mordaunt eliminated from the race after a bitter contest in Westminster.

Mr Sunak, the frontrunner throughout the parliamentary leg of the contest, received 137 votes in the final round of voting.

Ms Truss won 113 votes, narrowly pushing Ms Mordaunt into third place on 105.

Mr Sunak and Ms Truss will now face a campaign to win the votes of Tory members, with the result of the contest announced on September 5.

The winner is expected to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister the following day.

Ms Mordaunt tweeted: “Thanks to everyone for all your hard work. We go forward together.”

Foreign Secretary Ms Truss thanked supporters for entrusting her after she made it onto the final ballot in the Tory leadership campaign.

She tweeted: “Thank you for putting your trust in me.

“I’m ready to hit the ground from day one.”

More to follow