Conservative and Unionist Party (Tory leadership) MPs will vote on Thursday to choose who the two final candidates will be contesting to replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.

In today's secret ballot, the remaining four candidates - the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Sajid Javid - will be whittled down to three. The fourth round of the MPs’ voting in the Tory leadership contest has commenced, international media reported.

There will then be another voting today to select the final two. After today's voting, about 160,000 Conservative Party members will vote to elect their new leader and the UK's next prime minister at the end of July.

On Wednesday's third round of balloting, Johnson topped third ballot with 143 votes, ahead of Hunt, followed by Gove, Javid and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart. During the voting, Stewart was knocked out of the race.

Johnson got 143 out of 313 votes, with Hunt in second place with 54 votes and Gove third with 51. The home secretary Javid was fourth with 38 votes with Stewart managing to get the backing of just 27 Tory MPs.