Conservative leadership: Nigel Farage tweets backing for Andrea Leadsom... an hour before she quit

LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images
Hatty Collier11 July 2016
WEST END FINAL

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Nigel Farage threw his weight behind Andrea Leadsom in the Tory leadership race just an hour before she announced she was pulling out of the contest.

The outgoing Ukip leader expressed his support for the Brexit-supporting energy minister saying the next Prime Minister must be someone who championed the Leave campaign.

He wrote on Twitter: “The next Prime Minister must be a Brexiteer - that's why I'm backing @andrealeadsom.”

Mrs Leadsom dramatically quit the race for Number 10 today, leaving leadership rival Theresa May poised to become Britain’s next Prime Minister within hours.

Her decision comes just days after she sparked a furious row by making comments suggesting that being a mother gave her more of a stake in the future than her rival Mrs May, who does not have children.

Mr Farage’s tweet backing Mrs Leadsom for PM carried a link to article he wrote for the Mail on Sunday, in which he said he was backing her, even though he acknowledged success for her could damage his own party’s chances.

He said that before the referendum campaign he “hardly knew anything of Andrea Leadsom” but found her “very open, straightforward and even friendly” while sharing a platform with her in the run-up to the Brexit vote on June 23.

Following Mrs Leadsom’s announcement that she would quite the race for PM, Mr Farage posted on Twitter: “Disappointed that @andrealeadsom has decided to withdraw from the Conservative leadership contest.”

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