The race for number 10 is heating up and turning increasingly bitter as Michael Gove confirmed he will run for the Tory crown after attacking rival Boris Johnson.

Gove launched Operation Stop Boris and said he will join the Conservative leadership race because he has a better ‘track record’ and is more ‘capable’ of delivering Brexit than his former ally.

Johnson and Gove clashed during the 2016 leadership contest after the Environment Secretary withdrew his support for the former London Mayor and announced his own bid for the top job.

The spectacular fall out between the two former allies helped destroy both men’s chances to lead their party at the time.

In 2016, Gove insisted Johnson was unfit to be leaders, which he appeared to repeat in his new plea.

Gove said the next leader cannot just ‘respect’ the Brexit vote, but must have the ‘wherewithal to deliver it’.

Gove, who is posing as a self-styled ‘unity candidate’ said today: ‘I can confirm that I will be putting my name forward to be prime minister of this country.

‘I believe I’m ready to unite the Conservative and Unionist Party, ready to deliver Brexit and ready to lead this great country.’

He has joined the Tory battle by throwing himself in an already crowded field after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-Cabinet minister Dominic Raab and Andrea Leadsom threw their hat in the ring.

His colleagues joined the criticism of Johnson and used it as part of their plea for the top job.

Hunt claimed his business background would help resolve Brexit as the leadership tussle fired up with International Development Secretary Rory Stewart launching a strongly-worded attack on current front-runner Johnson.

Both Raab and Leadsom said they would be prepared to order a no-deal Brexit in October if necessary.

Hunt told The Sunday Times: ‘If I was prime minister, I’d be the first prime minister in living memory who has been an entrepreneur by background.

‘Doing deals is my bread and butter as someone who has set up their own business.’

Hunt’s emphasis on his entrepreneurial past is being seen as swipe at Johnson who reportedly once said ‘f*** business’ in relation to Brexit.

In a reference to mythical sea monsters, Hunt said. ‘The real question is: who has got the experience to avoid the Scylla and Charybdis of no deal or no Brexit. I’ve got very important experience in that respect.

‘We can never take no deal off the table but the best way of avoiding it is to make sure you have someone who is capable of negotiating a deal.’

The comments came after Johnson insisted he would take the UK out of the EU on October 31 with or without a deal.

Raab has told the Mail on Sunday he would prefer to leave the EU with a deal, but said the UK must ‘calmly demonstrate unflinching resolve to leave in October – at the latest’.

Leadsom, whose resignation helped trigger Mrs May’s dramatic resignation statement, told The Sunday Times that if elected PM, the UK would quit the EU in October with or without a deal.

She said: ‘To succeed in a negotiation you have to be prepared to walk away.’

Sparks began to fly in the contest with Stewart saying he would refuse to serve in a government led by Johnson as he appeared to compare the ex-foreign secretary to Pinocchio.

Stewart was scathing about Johnson’s no deal stance, insisting that such a position was ‘damaging and dishonest’.

He told the BBC: ‘I could not serve in a government whose policy was to push this country into a no-deal Brexit.

‘I could not serve with Boris Johnson.’

In a clear dig at Johnson, the International Development Secretary tweeted: ‘The star name will not always be the best choice.

‘There may be times when Jiminy Cricket would make a better leader than Pinocchio.’

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was running for leader because the party needed to look to the future and attract younger voters.

He said he would take a different approach to try and get Commons support for a Brexit deal than the one Theresa May used.

Hancock said: ‘She didn’t start by levelling with people about the trade-offs.

‘I think it is much, much easier to bring people together behind a proposal if you are straightforward in advance.’

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss said she would not stand for the leadership.

She told the Sunday Telegraph that she would back a contender who supported Leave in the 2016 referendum.

Labour has said it will trigger a Commons no-confidence vote in the new prime minister when they take office.

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