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Mark Harper has become the twelfth Tory MP to join the race for leadership of the Conservative party.
The former chief whip admitted that he is an “underdog” but said he has an edge against ministers who have “shared the responsibility” for Theresa May’s failure to deliver Brexit.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Harper said watching the other candidates over the past week convinced him to run.
He told the newspaper: “We’ve seen basically the same faces saying the same things that they’ve been saying for the last three years… A number of them have tried to position themselves as fresh faces but I’m afraid they’ve sat around the Cabinet table sharing the responsibility with the Prime Minister.”
Mr Harper, who in 2016 campaigned for the UK to remain in the EU, said he was “quite happy to acknowledge that in this contest I am the underdog” and that he offers “fresh thinking”.
The race for Number 10 is in full swing, with twelve Tories having put themselves forward to succeed Prime Minister Mrs May.
The outgoing leader said on Friday that she would leave Downing Street on June 7, triggering a contest for a new Tory leader.
Before Mr Harper, junior Brexit minister James Cleverly was the last to join the race, which includes the likes of Conservative heavyweights Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt.
This page is being updated.
