There were gasps of surprise from Conservative MPs when the results of a secret ballot placed shadow communities secretary Ms Badenoch in first place and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick second. Mr Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, came third and was eliminated, meaning he will not go forward to a vote of party members.

Senior Conservatives believe James Cleverly was booted out of the party’s leadership contest by mistake. The former home secretary became the latest candidate to be ejected by Tory MPs in a major shock on Wednesday. Cleverly had been widely thought to be a shoo-in to make the final run-off when he came top of the MPs’ ballot the day before.