THE Tory leadership contest descended from farce to pantomime yesterday after senior party figures cast Justice Secretary Michael Gove in the role of King Rat.

Gove, who yesterday stabbed long-term ally Boris Johnson in the back while announcing his own candidacy for the leadership, faced calls to pull out of the race — a move which many feel would leave the field wide open for Home Secretary Theresa May.

The Justice Secretary faced furious, and frequently Shakespearian, accusations of treachery from Mr Johnson’s allies after his hatchet job on his former colleague in which he claimed that the former London mayor was incapable of providing the leadership the country needed.