MOSCOW (Sputnik) – UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matthew Hancock supported former UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s bid for the Tory leader and country’s prime minister.

“Having considered all the options, I’m backing Boris Johnson as the best candidate to unite the Conservative party, so we can deliver Brexit and then unite the country behind an open, ambitious, forward-looking agenda, delivered with the energy that gets stuff done,” Hancock wrote in a comment for The Times media outlet on Sunday.

He believes that Johnson is likely to win the race and head the UK government.

“Boris has run a disciplined campaign and is almost certainly going to be our next prime minister. We need to unite behind him with a strong team that can bring the party together and then bring the country together,” Hancock added.

Hancock was also in the list of the candidates for prime minister but withdrew from the race on Friday.

Last week, the UK Conservative Party held the first round of the party leadership election. Johnson won the election with 114 votes, incumbent Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt came second with 43 votes, while Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove was third with 37 votes. Hancock gained only 20 votes and after that decided to leave the race.

The next rounds of the voting will be held on Wednesday-Thursday.

The UK Conservative Party is choosing the new leader and the country’s prime minister after the resignation of Theresa May, who decided to leave her post over unsuccessful talks on Brexit.