Boris Johnson and Theresa May lead field in Tory race

More than half a dozen MPs are to contest the Conservative leadership when nominations open today, with former London mayor Boris Johnson and home secretary Theresa May the likely front runners. Work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb, who has the backing of business secretary Sajid Javid, will announce his candidacy today.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who yesterday said there should be a second referendum to endorse Britain's post-Brexit deal with the EU, is considering a run, as are energy minister Andrea Leadsom and former defence secretary Liam Fox, both prominent figures in the Leave campaign.

Mr Johnson, who has the backing of fellow Leave campaigner and justice secretary Michael Gove, is seeking support among MPs on both sides of the referendum debate. His allies suggested yesterday that he would not call a snap general election if he became prime minister, viewing the referendum as a mandate for his negotiating strategy for withdrawing Britain from the EU. Mr Johnson is expected to launch his campaign by outlining his strategy for talks with the EU.

Ms May, who backed Remain, has the support of many within David Cameron's circle and some MPs have complained that party whips, who are supposed to be neutral, have been canvassing support for her. Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne, once regarded as Mr Cameron's most likely successor said yesterday that he would not be a candidate. "I don't think I can be the person to bring this party together at the moment," he told the BBC. [CROSSHEAD]Leadership contest[/CROSSHEAD] The Conservative party board yesterday published the timetable for the leadership contest, with the winner to be announced on September 9th, a week later than initially envisaged. In a succession of ballots, MPs will whittle down the candidates to a final two, who will then go before the broader party membership. Mr Johnson and Ms May are the clear favourites, although Mr Crabb is seen as a dark horse who could attract enough votes from younger MPs to survive the early ballots. Mr Hunt's candidacy is primarily aimed at putting the idea of a second referendum on the Brexit deal on the agenda.

"We must not invoke article 50 straight away because that puts a time limit of two years on negotiations after which we could be thrown out with no deal at all. So before setting the clock ticking we need to negotiate a deal and put it to the British people either in the referendum or through the Conservative manifesto at a fresh general election," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph. Angela Merkel and other EU leaders have ruled out informal talks with Britain before article 50 is activated and many Leave campaigners would be outraged by the idea that a new referendum could reverse the vote.

Amid growing concern about an increase in xenophobic incidents since the referendum, Labour MP Yvette Cooper has called for a national commission to develop a consensus on what immigration policy should be after Brexit.

“We need a national commission on immigration charged with building a consensus across the country – drawing together faith leaders, community leaders, trades unions, employers, the voice of the small towns and the big cities,” she told the Centre for European Reform.