Matt Hancock ignited a bidding war for his endorsement last night as he withdrew from the Tory leadership race.

The Health Secretary quit the contest, admitting he did not have enough support to reach the next round.

He had finished sixth in the first vote of Tory MPs, with 20 backers. The remaining candidates will now attempt to win him over – along with his supporters.

Matt Hancock ignited a bidding war for his endorsement last night as he withdrew from the Tory leadership race

In what appeared to be a jibe aimed at fellow leadership hopeful Dominic Raab, Mr Hancock wore socks bearing the legend ‘This is what a feminist looks like’

With Boris Johnson so far ahead on 114 votes, the remaining six candidates are engaged in a desperate race for second place.

Last night there were signs Mr Hancock was edging towards supporting Michael Gove – which would bolster the Environment Secretary’s hopes of securing second place ahead of Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

But there was also speculation that he could throw his lot in with Mr Johnson – in what would be a devastating blow to the remaining runners. One friend said: ‘Matt’s had about 86 text messages, and only half of them are from Boris.’

Sajid Javid’s hopes of making the final two suffered a major blow after allies of Mr Hancock said he would not be joining up with the Home Secretary, who finished fifth with 23 votes.

The pair held talks within hours of the results being announced about the prospect of an alliance. But Mr Hancock was said to be ‘irritated’ after details of the meeting were leaked.

In what appeared to be a jibe aimed at fellow leadership hopeful Dominic Raab, Mr Hancock wore socks bearing the legend ‘This is what a feminist looks like’ as he withdrew from the race.

Mr Hancock did not say who he would endorse, but left the door open to backing Mr Johnson

Mr Raab has refused to retract a claim he made in 2011 that feminists are ‘obnoxious bigots’.

Mr Hancock did not say who he would endorse, but left the door open to backing Mr Johnson. He said: ‘I ran as the candidate of the future, but the party is understandably looking for a candidate for the unique circumstances we face right now.’ He added: ‘I’m hugely grateful for the warm and enthusiastic support... and am proud of the way we managed to set the agenda by promoting new ideas to make people’s lives better.

‘I will look for the best way to advance the values we fought for, of free enterprise, and an open, aspirational, free society, underpinned by an optimistic belief in the value of each individual person.’