Tory MP James Cleverly has pulled out of the race to take over from Theresa May saying that the party wasn't ready to skip a generation.

The Brexit minister said he had hoped MPs would allow him to be the "face and voice" of other important issues that face the country beyond leaving the EU.

But he added it was now "highly unlikely" that he would progress to the final two candidates.

In a statement, he said: "To do this I asked them to make a leap of faith, skip a generation and vote for a relatively new MP.

"It is clear that despite much support, particularly from our party's grass roots, MPs weren't comfortable with such a move."

With his withdrawal, the crowded Tory leadership field now goes down to 12. Mr Cleverly worked under Boris Johnson at City Hall and the pair remain close.

It comes after the 13-candidate Tory leadership contest was branded a "shambles" amid calls for the less likely winners to drop out.

Veteran Tory Ken Clarke said the Conservative Party is "tearing itself apart" and joined mounting calls for the field to narrow itself.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is all a shambles and is in danger of becoming a rather tragic farce unless some order is brought into it.

"There is nothing I can do about that; the 1922 Committee perhaps should have tightened up the rules before we started."

The race is due to begin on Monday 10 June after Theresa May formally resigns and becomes a lame duck Prime Minister.

The Conservative Party has pledged to complete the race by the end of July.

But first MPs must hold one round of voting for each candidate until the field is reduced to two.

There are concerns that could take several weeks before 160,000 Tory members get the chance to choose the winner from the final two in a postal ballot.

Cabinet minister James Brokenshire called for outsiders to stand aside.

He warned: "We simply do not have the luxury of weeks of navel-gazing or days and days of whittling candidates down to the final two and talking to ourselves."

And Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said those with little support should "think twice" about staying in the race.

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