14:44

The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has revealed that just two of the remaining contenders for the Conservative party leadership have so far accepted his challenge and pledged to work to keep down Britain’s national debt.

Hammond, who sought assurances after becoming alarmed by the spending promises being made by Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, disclosed that he had received private commitments from two campaigns.

“I believe that fiscal responsibility is one of the unique selling points of my party,” Hammond said as he arrived at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg. “We have over a long period built the hard-won reputation for fiscal responsibility and managing the economy and the public finances and I want to ensure that the candidates commit to carrying on with the work that we’ve been doing over the last nine years.

“A couple of the candidates have signalled privately that they will be signing up to the pledge but I’m waiting to see what we get back.”