Rishi Sunak has become the third Prime Minister in two months.

The former Chancellor had the support of more than 150 MPs by the time Boris Johnson pulled out of the race last night, despite claiming to also have surpassed the 100 backers needed.

In a statement on Sunday evening, Mr Johnson said there was a “very good chance” he could have been back in No 10 by the end of the week if he had stood.

However his efforts to “reach out” to his rivals – Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt – to work together in the national interest had not been successful, he said, so he was dropping out.

After his withdrawal the pound – which had fallen in value when he had announced his intention to run and jetted back early from a family holiday in the Dominican Republic – began climbing in value.

Read more: What does a Sunak government mean for Kent?

Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt, who stepped in for Liz Truss to field a Labour urgent question last week in a move seen as an "audition" by many observers, pulled out just before the 2pm, saying Mr Sunak had her "full support".

If she had secured the 100 by 2pm the vote would have been taken to Tory members.

Sunak-supporting Tory MP Tobias Ellwood earlier dismissed calls from Labour for a general election.

“The country does not want further economic instability,” the chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee told the BBC.

“And what you’d get if there was a general election is it would not be clear as to which direction the country would go, there’d be greater upheaval, the markets would then be spooked again.

“There would probably be a run on the pound, that would see interest rates climb (and) mortgages go up as well. This isn’t the leadership the country wants.”

Last week, KentOnline readers overwhelmingly voted for a general election following Ms Truss' departure after just 44 days.

Mr Sunak, who is of Indian descent with parents who migrated to Britain from East Africa, becomes the first person of colour to hold the office of Prime Minister.

The 42-year-old father-of-two will also be the first PM in history to be richer than the monarch.

Mr Sunak and wife, Akshata Murty, have a combined fortune of £730m – more than double King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, £300m to £350m wealth.

He became the first front-line politician to be included on the Sunday Times Rich List earlier this year and owns four properties across the globe worth £15m.

The Guardian reported than in addition to his £7m Kensington five-bed, Mr Sunak's £2m manor in his North Yorkshire constituency has a pool which will cost £14,000 a year to heat.

During the first leadership campaign over summer - one he would end up losing to Liz Truss after the vote went to members - Mr Sunak visited Tunbridge Wells where he told members they should back him because he'd "taken money away from deprived urban areas and sent it to places like" their home town.