Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom named final Tory leader candidates

• ITV News report by Romilly Weeks

Michael Gove has been the butt of all cartoonists' jokes since his very public betrayal of friend Boris Johnson when he left his leadership campaign and began his own.

On Thursday he was eliminated from the Tory leadership contest as he got the fewest votes from his colleagues at Westminster.

So what next for the man who wielded the knife?

Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith has said that having two women as candidates for the next leader and prime minister will make it an honest campaign.

He said: "I would like to say to anybody who thinks dirty tricks work: pack it up, because they make you look foolish, make the party look bad and we want a straight, robust contest between two women who know what they are about, who need to present themselves."

Mr Duncan Smith, who is supporting Andrea Leadsom's bid, said he was pleased that two women were in the contest.

He added: "It means people like my daughters and others can think to themselves 'there is no glass ceiling, there is no door that is locked against them as women, they can go to the top wherever they are'."

• ITV News deputy political editor Chris Ship reports

Now that the Conservative leadership election has whittled down the candidates to just two - Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom - the real campaigning can begin.

Michael Gove was eliminated in the final round of the contest, and the two female MPs will now have to campaign at hustings nationwide to win the support of Conservative party members, not just MPs.

Andrea Leadsom has said that she is "absolutely delighted" with the results of the Tory MP ballot today, which means that either her or Theresa May will be the next leader of the Tory party and therefore prime minister.

She said she was "very grateful" to her team and "feeling very positive" about the results and the future.

Speaking to reporters, she added: "My commiserations to Michael [Gove] but I'm absolutely delighted with the results.

"The great news is we have an all-female shortlist with no positive discrimination or anything, isn't that fantastic?"

Boris Johnson has congratulated Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom, saying that as a result of two women competing for the top title, the Conservatives are "the most progressive party in Britain".

He also said Leadsom's position in particular was a "stunning achievement".

His full statement:

Michael Gove has said he is "naturally disappointed" to have lost out in the latest Conservative party ballot, but that his two female rivals were both "formidable politicians".

He said that whoever won, they would "lead the country well".

His Twitter account @Gove2016 also tweeted congratulations to Andrea Leadsom and Theresa May:

Theresa May has spoken following the ballot in which she won 199 votes from Conservative Party MPs.

She said: "This vote shows that the Conservative party can come together, and under my leadership it will.

"Now is the time for me to take my case out to party members across the country."

She added: "We need strong, proven leadership to negotiate the best deal for Britain as we leave the European Union, to unite our Party and our country, and to make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us."