Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of the running for the leadership of the Conservative Party.
The shock move came after the shock announcement by fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove - who had widely been expected to be Mr Johnson's running mate - that he was putting himself forward for the leadership.
Mr Johnson was thought to be a front runner for the post following his prominent role in the Brexit campaign but a poll for a newspaper this morning said he would be in second place behind Theresa May.
In a dramatic press conference just moments before the deadline for nominations passed, Mr Johnson said that the next Tory leader would have to unify his party and ensure that Britain stood tall in the world.
And he said: "Having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in Parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me."
Theresa May, Michael Gove, Stephen Crabb, Liam Fox and Andrea Leadsom have been confirmed as the official Tory leadership contenders by the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Graham Brady.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain, Dr Fox said any candidate who had voted to stay in the EU would struggle with credibility.
He said: "I think it's much harder for anybody who voted Remain to have credibility amongst the voters who voted to leave in terms of leading the country. It's not impossible, but it's much harder.
"For those of us on that Leave side there is a natural credibility with those voters."
Asked who he would support if he dropped out of the race, he said they would need to be "clear about leaving the European Union and not betraying what the British people told us".
He added: "I'm a very good friend of Stephen Crabb, I had great fun campaigning with Boris Johnson on the winning side, I have great experience working with Theresa May in government on national security. I respect all of them and I hope that's very much the tone."
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