Team Johnson allegedly hopes to help Hunt through to the final

‘In an extraordinary allegation, senior Tories told The Sun that MPs on Boris’ books were desperate for their man to face off against the struggling Foreign Secretary – to avoid Michael Gove…One Tory told The Sun: “MPs on Boris’ team are looking at lending Jeremy votes. Boris has so much headroom he can be a master manipulator. It’s like something out of 1930s Chicago. And given it’s a secret ballot there’s no way of stopping it.” Another said: “There’s talk of 15 MPs going across.” Boris got a staggering 114 votes in last week’s first round of voting – more than his three closest competitors combined. His supporters believe he could climb towards 150 in today’s second round after picking up support from Health Secretary Matt Hancock, arch Eurosceptic Esther McVey and their respective followers.’ – The Sun

• On TV tonight there is one crucial question he must answer – The Sun Says
• Leadsom backs him – The Sun
• He enjoys strong approval ratings among Party members – Asa Bennett, Daily Telegraph
• Gauke attacks ‘free and easy’ spending pledges – The Times
• If he wins, expect him to replace at least a third of the Cabinet – Daily Telegraph
• Baker pushes for a harder line on May’s deal – The Guardian
• His fellow candidates lambast his absence from the Lobby hustings – Daily Telegraph
• Who is Carrie Symonds? – The Times
• The BBC and ITV pressure him to answer questions about his children – Daily Mail

>Today: The Moggcast. Johnson “understands that If we don’t leave by 31st October, there’s no Tory Party to lead”.

Gove: The two finalists should be people who have supported Brexit from the outset

‘As well as having the ability to take on Corbyn, the final two should be candidates who believe in Brexit, who can deliver it and who can unite the party. One of the challenges we’ve faced since 2016 is that we have had people asked to deliver Brexit who don’t really believe in it. They see it as a problem to be managed rather than an opportunity to be seized. This has to change — and the best way of doing that will be to elect a leader who has wanted to leave the European Union from the word go… It would be a mistake to put forward two candidates to the final round who will polarise our party.’ – Michael Gove, The Times

• No prizes for guessing whom he is trying to knock out of the race – The Times
• Conservative leadership candidates are in denial – The Guardian Leader
• I’ve taken drugs and had several kids, put me in charge, argues Liam Gallagher – The Sun

>Today: MPsETC: Which MP is backing which candidate. Our named estimates. Johnson 102, Hunt 42, Gove 35, Raab 25, Javid 22, Stewart 14

Hunt ‘agrees 150 per cent’ with Trump’s criticism of Khan’s knife crime failures…

‘Mr Hunt was asked for his opinion after Mr Trump – who has repeatedly attacked the Mayor – shared a tweet by the controversial journalist Katie Hopkins, accusing Mr Khan of turning the capital into “stab city” and “Londonistan”. Whilst four of the five other leadership candidates distanced themselves from the President’s remarks, Mr Hunt told a Parliamentary leadership hustings he agreed with the thrust of the attacks on the Mayor. “President Trump has his own style and I wouldn’t use those words myself,” he added. “But the sentiment is enormous disappointment that we have a Mayor of London who has completely failed to tackle knife crime and has spent more time on politics than the actual business of making Londoners safer and in that I 150 percent agree with the president.”‘ – Daily Telegraph

• Is he ‘too nice’? – The Guardian
• The Foreign Secretary criticises Bercow for ‘using his office to further a political agenda’ – Daily Mail
• Trump’s view is twisted – Hugo Rifkind, The Times

>Today: MPsETC: Who’s supporting whom: David Jeffery’s calculations. 2) Remainers and Leavers.

…while Javid tells the US President to butt out of domestic British politics

‘Mr Trump also retweeted a Twitter post by columnist Katie Hopkins, dubbing the capital “Londonistan”. Hitting back, the Home Secretary told America’s boss it was “unbecoming of a leader of such a great state to keep trying to interfere in other countries’ domestic policies”. Mr Javid added: “The President is right to be concerned about serious violence but he should be concerned about the serious violence in his own country where it is more than 10 times higher than it is in the UK”. He was joined in his criticism of the president by two other Tory leadership contenders, Michael Gove and Dominic Raab.’ – The Sun

• He is right that the Conservative Party needs to get on the front foot among ethnic minority voters – Rachel Sylvester, The Times
• The Home Secretary opposes drug consumption rooms – The Scotsman
• Why are we too PC to fight knife crime? – Brendan O’Neill, The Sun

>Yesterday: LISTEN: Iain Dale’s interview with Javid

Wallace: Whether he gets through today or not, Stewart has won the leadership of the Tory left

‘If he survives the second ballot, Stewart will face a dilemma. Is he standing to lead the Conservative Party, or one of its factions? Video walkabouts aside, his performance thus far rests on cornering a particular ideological theme within conservatism. The Tory centre-left has waned over the years, but it is a rich vein, the inheritance of Ken Clarke and Michael Heseltine. It is this audience which Stewart has managed – artfully – to scoop up. Even if he is knocked out today, he is the undisputed new leader of this Conservative tribe. While championing that tradition has proved fruitful, it is a minority and controversial wing of the modern party. In a Brexit-dominated race, a new Prince of the historically most pro-EU Tory faction might find that his appeal has a hard ceiling.’ – Mark Wallace, the i paper

• ‘Intrigue’ about claims he worked for MI6 – Daily Telegraph
• Only he has committed to reduce the national debt as a share of GDP – David Gauke, The Times
• Lidington is his latest backer – Daily Mail
• His campaign has been exciting but his citizens’ assembly idea is hard to take seriously – The Times Leader
• He says it is being run by his wife – Daily Mail
• How he picked up the nickname ‘Florence of Belgravia’ – Daily Telegraph
• YouGov find him polling in last place – Daily Telegraph
• Remoaners see him as one of their own, but they wouldn’t vote for him – The Sun Says
• Johnson versus Stewart is the contest we all want to see – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
• His colleagues know him better than voters do, and don’t seem hugely impressed – Daily Telegraph Leader

>Today: ToryDiary: Our latest Next Tory Leader survey. Stewart consolidates at second – but almost 40 points behind Johnson, who keeps over half the vote.

EU sources brief against Raab

‘Brussels sources said that Mr Raab was not the fully-briefed details man or tough negotiator meting out home truths to the EU he claims to be in his Tory leadership campaign speeches. “The Turnip”, a play on raap, the Dutch word for the vegetable, allegedly “chickened out” when confronted by Michel Barnier over empty threats he made about the Irish border in a “very tense” meeting, according to the insiders. Mr Raab has regularly mentioned the clash with the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, first reported by The Telegraph, as proof that he has the guts to take on Brussels, where both Dutch and French are spoken. “Raab never mentions that Barnier called his bluff,” one well-placed source said.’ – Daily Telegraph

• EU sources are briefing against him – Daily Telegraph
• Channel 4 News is allowing its bias to show through – Benedict Spence, Daily Telegraph
• BBC stars face complaints about anti-Brexit campaigning – The Sun

>Today: Mike Rouse on Local Government: Why I’m backing Raab

>Yesterday: Nadhim Zahawi on Comment: Johnson and Raab showed their Brexit commitment by resigning. That’s why we need them both in the final. Continue to all today’s Newslinks