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The Foreign Secretary told his local paper the Farnham Herald that it was “only right that my party constituency should be the first to know”. Mr Hunt threw his hat into the ring just hours after Mrs May’s emotional resignation speech this morning. He went on to praise the Prime Minister as “someone with the strongest sense of public service than anyone I’ve ever known”.

In a Twitter post, Mr Hunt added: “I want to pay tribute to the PM today. “Delivering Brexit was always going to be a huge task, but one she met every day with courage & resolve. “NHS will have an extra £20bn thanks to her support, and she leaves the country safer and more secure. A true public servant.” It comes as leading Brexiteer Boris Johnson is the favourite to take over from Mrs May.

Jeremy Hunt has said he will run for Tory leadership

He recently confirmed that he would be standing for the top job, telling a business event “of course I’m going to go for it”. Esther McVey, who quit as work and pensions minister in November in protest over Mrs May’s Brexit deal, has also said she plans to run. And Rory Stewart put himself forward shortly after being promoted to international development secretary earlier this month.