Sajid Javid, the man whose resignation triggered the collapse of Boris Johnson’s government, has picked a side in the Tory leadership contest.

The ex-health secretary has thrown his weight behind Liz Truss, becoming the latest high profile MP to row in behind the foreign secretary as her lead begins to look unassailable.

She is the clear favourite to be the next prime minister, with a Yougov poll released yesterday giving her a 34-point lead with Tory members over Rishi Sunak.

Speaking to reporters today, Ms Truss said she wasn’t ‘taking anything for granted’ but the ex-Remainer, whose political conversion secured her backing from the right of the party, looks on course to be installed in Number 10 by the autumn. 

With the contest seemingly hers to lose, ex-leadership contenders and senior figures like defence secretary Ben Wallace have publicly got in line behind their prospective boss.

Mr Javid announced his decision writing in The Times and took a swipe at the economic legacy of Mr Sunak in the process.

He said the nation was ‘sleepwalking into a big-state, high-tax, low-growth, social democratic model which risks us becoming a middle-income economy by the 2030s with the loss of global influence and power’.

Mr Javid backed Ms Truss’ plan for sweeping tax cuts and described her approach as a combination of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. 

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The foreign secretary has attracted a slew of endorsements in recent days, perhaps a sign MPs think the game is up and have begun to vye for favour.

Mr Javid put himself forward to be the next prime minister but was quickly out of the race after failing to receive backing from MPs.

The ex-banker, who has previously served as chancellor and home secretary, had remained quiet through throughout the campaign before today’s intervention.

His announcement means Jeremy Hunt and Grant Shapps, who are backing Mr Sunak, and Kemi Badenoch, who has not made an endorsement, are the only candidates not to have given their support to the frontrunner.

Despite attracting staunch support from senior colleagues and members, the Truss campaign hit a serious rocky patch this week when it was forced into a major U-turn.

She was forced to abandon an £8.8 billion policy pledge to cut the public sector wage bill by paying workers in cheaper areas of the country less than in London and the South East.

It was branded ‘bonkers’ by one northern Tory mayor, who said it might have cost the party the next election if it wasn’t ditched.

It emerged overnight that the security services have asked the Conservative Party to delay the ballot process over fears it could be hijacked.

Voting was due to start this week but has been pushed back to August 11 after GCHQ warned a mechanism which would allow members to change their votes later in the contest could potentially be exploited by hackers.

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