Tory hopefuls face bruising week of scrambling for support

Sources say 1922 Committee may raise threshold of supporters required to 25 to narrow down crowded field

Conservative leadership hopefuls face a bruising week in which they must quickly scramble for supporters in what looks likely to be a dramatically accelerated contest to find Boris Johnson's successor.

After an acrimonious weekend in which several MPs launched their plans to cut tax, those currently vying to be prime minister are likely to be whittled down to a final two in about a week.