this is bbc news, these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. the contest for the conservative leadership — three front runners emerge. including the recently ousted boris johnson. supporters of former chancellor, rishi sunak, say he's gained the backing of enough mps to make it to the next stage he has already, through public declarations that have been tallied up, broken through the 100 threshold for nominations. boris johnson flys back from holiday in the caribbean after telling an ally he's ready to enter the race the leader of the commons, penny mordaunt, is the only person to

formally announce their candidacy. at the china congress, president xi's predecessor hi jintao is mysteriously led out of the hall by officials. giorgia meloni has been officially sworn in as the prime minister of italy, she is the nation's first female leader, and the first far right leader since the second world war. summoned to give evidence under oath — former us president donald trump is called by the committee investigating last year's attack on the capitol building. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. boris johnson will arrive at gatwick airport shortly as the battle to replace liz truss as conservative leader, and prime minister, intensifies. officially neither he nor rishi sunak have said they definitely want the role.

0nly penny morduant has officially declared. but it's widely being seen as a battle between the former prime minister and the man who worked with him as chancellor. currently the bbc estimates 163 out of 357 tory mps have gone public with their support. rishi sunak has 97, borisjohnson 45 and penny mordaunt 21. it's worth pointing out that these are the numbers the bbc can verify — others may have different information. mps will vote on monday for their preferred candidate. if more than one reaches the magic number of 100, conservative members will have the final say. jonathan blake reports. three potential contenders to become the next prime minister and replace liz truss in number 10. hasta la visa, baby! the big question is whether boris johnson will attempt a comeback. the former prime minister

flew home from holiday in the caribbean overnight. despite being forced out after a series of scandals, his supporters claim he's ready to return to number 10. i think if borisjohnson makes the members�* ballot he would certainly win, and that's certainly the message that i've been getting. of course, he is the only one that had a mandate, that 80—seat majority at the election. he's had a mandate of being elected by the party members before as well. and of course he's proven he's a winner. the frontrunner at this stage is rishi sunak, whose allies last night said he'd secured the backing of 100 mps, the number of the former chancellor would need to formally enter the race. clearly there are over 100 colleagues that are pretty much publicly declaring that's the nomination threshold, so there's that parliamentary support again, because let's remember that rishi won most of, all of them, the parliamentary stages in the last, and i expect a huge outcry from the parliamentary party for him to come forward.

penny mordaunt finished third in the previous contest and is giving it another go. the former defence secretary, now leader of the commons, was the first to declare her candidacy, promising to unite the country. i happen to think the best chance of finding that unity and finding that leadership will be with penny because of the skillset she has and the personal qualities, however, whoever it is, we need to get behind that person, that man or woman, and we need to make this work. those in the running have until monday to secure enough support to enter the contest to become what will be the uk's fifth prime minister injust over six years. jonathan blake, bbc news. here's how the leadership contest will play out over the coming days. we could find out who's replacing liz truss as early as monday. conservative mps have until then to nominate their preferred candidate.

each candidate needs at least 100 nominations — if only one of them achieves that, they'll be declared prime minister on monday afternoon at 2pm. if three candidates get 100 nominations, the bottom one will drop out, and the last one remaining will go to a vote of mps. a choice on the final two would be made by tory party members voting online. declared on friday. if that happens, the new party leader and prime minister will be declared on friday. some politicians have already been coming out in support of their preferred candidate to be the new prime minister of the uk. the former foreign secretary dominic raab has been speaking about why he's supporting rishi sunak as a contender. he has already, through the public declarations that have been tallied

up, broken through the 100 threshold for nominations. i think what is more important than that, in terms of those mps, as the range, from david and seats to carlisle, scottish mps, remain, leave. ithink the critical issues will be the economy. rishi sunak at the right plan in the summer, and i think it is the right plan now. he is the best placed candidate to provide some stability, provide confidence for the millions of workers and businesses up and down the country, but i also think he is the right candidate to bring the party together with the government and all of the talents to relentlessly deliver for the british of the talents to relentlessly deliverfor the british people, whether it is on the cost of living, crime, schools, the nhs, and get us moving forward, which you think it's what the country needs to see. one of those supporting the idea of borisjohnson returning as party leader and prime minister is andrew stephenson, who's currently a minister in the government. i'm encouraging boris johnson i'm encouraging borisjohnson to win because during the summer i helped

oversee the conservative leadership election as party chairman, i travelled round the country to over 80 different constituencies, and what i heard from party members and people in the street in the length and breadth of the country is that they thought mps had been wrong to get rid of boris, boris on the ballot. that can happen over the summer, he had resigned, that contest is between liz truss and rishi sunak, but now there is an opportunity for boris to put himself forward, and that is what i'm encouraging him to do. the mp for basingstoke, dame maria miller, is supporting penny mordaunt in her efforts to become party leader and prime minister. i'm backing penny because she is the candidate i think are not only bring the conservative party together but also the whole country. she has a proven track record working across eight departments in her 12 years in parliament, and i think that

background really makes a well placed to connect with people. after all we are going through a tough time as a country, and we want to have a prime minister who can really demonstrate that they understand that, and put the right support in place for the families will be watching your programme this morning who are struggling still with their energy bills. who are struggling still with their energy bills-— energy bills. lets bring in our olitical energy bills. lets bring in our political correspondent. - energy bills. lets bring in our - political correspondent. currently there are three names, boris johnson, penny morden, and rishi sunak. is it likely that those three will go for it, and is it likely that no one else will come forward? the reason that we are only talking about these three is because there is the maximum of three candidates that can go forward, because each will need to get 100 mps to nominate them. that is why we are talking about a maximum of three. they are seen as the three most realistic chances to be able to cross that

high bar. in terms of, well they all do it, that is what all the frantic phone calls and the shoring up of support is intended to do this weekend. sources close to the rishi sunak campaign suggest that he has already got the 100 names, so is already got the 100 names, so is already in our position to proceed to the ballot on monday. penny morden, from her publicly declared backers, seems to be quite a way off that from those who have publicly declared so far. borisjohnson, there is a thought, having spoke to mps over the last couple days, certainly his supporters think it is possible for him to get 100. i've spoken to a couple of mps who are not part of their efforts to get him to stand who have told me, they can see how he can get there. that all hinges on whether he decides to stand in the first place, and that is the big decision that we are waiting for. we is the big decision that we are waiting for-— is the big decision that we are waiting for. ~ ~ ., outcome is the big decision that we are waiting for. ~ _, ~ ., outcome on is the big decision that we are waiting for. ~ _, ~ ., outcome on monda ?

is the big decision that we are waiting for. ~ ~ ., outcome on monda ? ~ ., is the big decision that we are waiting for. ~ ~ ., outcome on monda ? �* . ., is the big decision that we are waiting for. ~ ~ ., outcome on monda ? �* . ., , outcome on monday? again, that is because of the _ outcome on monday? again, that is because of the process. _ outcome on monday? again, that is because of the process. monday - outcome on monday? again, that is because of the process. monday at| because of the process. monday at tpm as the deadline forgetting those nominations from 100 mps. if only one which that bar, there is no contest, they become the next conservative leader and prime minister. if more than one of them does, there will be a vote of mps to whittle it down to just two. there will be an indicative vote of mps just to show what the weight of support is for either candidate, and it will go to an online vote of conservative members. the result would be announced next friday. lets to go take a look at what some of the papers are saying. the daily express has a picture of borisjohnson on their front cover saying "we are going to do

this" in relation to his bid to be prime minister again. the sun also leads with the potential comeback of borisjohnson, with the former prime minister saying he is "up for it." the mail speculates that borisjohnson and rishi sunak could put their differences aside and join forces to "govern together", in a bid to unite the conservative party. meanwhile the telegraph reports that the former chancellor is close to reaching the threshold but borisjohnson is gathering support from the right. the former tory leader william hague says it would be "fatal" for borisjohnson to return to downing street, saying it's the "worst idea in 46 years." that makes the front page of the times. his return concerns the mirror as well, which says "not again" to borisjohnson, citing dismay among bereaved families of the coronavirus pandemic. and it's alarming some investors too. according to the financial times, the head of currency strategy at rabobank says it "would not be welcomed by the markets." and just when you thought the lettuce puns in the daily star would be coming to an end, the paper, in its usual style, is now depicting borisjohnson as an aubergine with the question "bozo back at number10?"

with the question "bozo back at number 10?" eleanor langford is political reporter at website politics home, and shejoins me now. what is your sense from mps about where this is going, and whether borisjohnson will where this is going, and whether boris johnson will stand?- where this is going, and whether boris johnson will stand? there is a definite feeling _ boris johnson will stand? there is a definite feeling that _ boris johnson will stand? there is a definite feeling that he _ boris johnson will stand? there is a definite feeling that he is _ boris johnson will stand? there is a definite feeling that he is likely - definite feeling that he is likely to try and stand, and i have heard it from both angles, either people are like, yes, i would like to stand, or, oh no, he is going to stand. it looks like it'll stay a three course race, there is not enough votes for it to be more than that, but at the moment penny mordaunt is falling behind, and there is a very real possibility that if borisjohnson chooses to run that if borisjohnson chooses to run that they could be our borisjohnson versus rishi sunak contest. me that they could be our boris johnson versus rishi sunak contest.- versus rishi sunak contest. we are 'ust versus rishi sunak contest. we are just hearing _ versus rishi sunak contest. we are just hearing that _ versus rishi sunak contest. we are just hearing that rishi _ versus rishi sunak contest. we are just hearing that rishi sunak- versus rishi sunak contest. we are just hearing that rishi sunak has i just hearing that rishi sunak has over 100 pledges. we are counting the tally of mps that have come out publicly and also have said

privately, and that now reflects what rishi sunak�*s supporters were saying, which is that he does have more than 100 pledges of support. he won the mps vote last time, but, of course, that was only after boris johnson had gone out, so it is hard, isn't it, to estimate how many supporters might come back for boris johnson? having onlyjust seen that process that forced him out? absolutely, and we have 112 mps that backed liz truss in the last race, who now have to pick their allegiance. a lot of those liz truss supporters have gone to support borisjohnson, they have come out for borisjohnson. i think because liz truss was considered a bit of continuity candidate, whereas rishi sunak have been part of the

government, so a lot of those original liz backers i can see going to borisjohnson. he may come back and decide he is not going to stand, the big? as of the privileges committee, the investigation into boris johnson's committee, the investigation into borisjohnson's conduct is still going ahead, and i could because a huge headache if he does return, he could be found to have lied to parliament a couple of weeks or months into his second premiership. he has that to weigh in as he decides. �* ~ , ., decides. and mps will need to consider that, _ decides. and mps will need to consider that, because - decides. and mps will need to consider that, because it - decides. and mps will need to consider that, because it is i decides. and mps will need to | consider that, because it is not sure at all what will happen with that, but potentially the sanction could be that he could be suspended from parliament, or even kicked out as an mp. the word stability is being used repeatedly.-

as an mp. the word stability is being used repeatedly. yes, and we have the inquiry— being used repeatedly. yes, and we have the inquiry into _ being used repeatedly. yes, and we have the inquiry into the _ being used repeatedly. yes, and we have the inquiry into the response l have the inquiry into the response of the covid pandemic ongoing, and we'll hear more of that next spring as well. that is unlikely to come out very favourably towards boris johnson and matt hancock in many areas, and it is ultimately how the opposition parties respond, because they're not going to be happy to see borisjohnson that, they they're not going to be happy to see boris johnson that, they are they're not going to be happy to see borisjohnson that, they are already calling for a general election, and they could make it quite difficult for the government if borisjohnson comes back in byjust not playing ball or agreeing to work with him. a coup because a lot of headaches that he comes back, and borisjohnson and his supporters have to weigh all of that. ., ., his supporters have to weigh all of that. . ,, , ., his supporters have to weigh all of that. ., ~' , ., , his supporters have to weigh all of that. . ,, ,, , . we can speak now to sirjohn curtice, professor of politics at the university of strathclyde. when eleonora says that opposition parties will not be happy to see borisjohnson back, which of these

potential candidates would do best for tory fortunes at the time when the tories are so far behind in the polls? the tories are so far behind in the olls? , ., , ., the tories are so far behind in the olls? , ., y., ., ., " polls? the truth is that if you look at o - inion polls? the truth is that if you look at opinion polls — polls? the truth is that if you look at opinion polls and _ polls? the truth is that if you look at opinion polls and the _ polls? the truth is that if you look at opinion polls and the views - polls? the truth is that if you look at opinion polls and the views of. at opinion polls and the views of the general public, the first thing you have to say is that quite a lot of people say, don't know. that is probably an analogy for don't care, because they have never voted conservative could never conceive a conservative. that said, the polling is remarkably similar to the previous leadership contest. rishi sunak is clearly ahead all voters, but if you look at the views of those who voted conservative in 2019, which is a group that the conservative party needs to win back above all, because they have lost so many of them, then it looks as

though mrjohnson is the more popular of the two. it is a question of whether or not the conservatives feel they are more alert —— they are more likely to restore confidence with borisjohnson, or whether they want to maximise their appeal to the electorate in general, in which case it is pretty clear that mr sunak is the person they should be going for. what is the tory party need to do after what we have seen unfolding in recent weeks? i after what we have seen unfolding in recent weeks?— recent weeks? i make the principal ruestion recent weeks? i make the principal question that _ recent weeks? i make the principal question that is _ recent weeks? i make the principal question that is facing _ recent weeks? i make the principal question that is facing the - recent weeks? i make the principal question that is facing the party . recent weeks? i make the principal question that is facing the party at | question that is facing the party at the moment is can it find a leader who is capable of uniting the party? around that there is a substantial?. it is pretty clear that there are

some mps who have already said publicly that they would find it difficult to support a government headed by borisjohnson. equally, there are those, most of them in the johnson camp, who are saying mr sunak was responsible for bringing mrjohnson down, we can argue that, not getting into that argument, that's what they said, and blame rishi sunakfor that's what they said, and blame rishi sunak for the fact that public spending and taxation is as high as it is, and they don't want to see him becoming prime minister. therefore, we are asking ourselves whether or not either of these two persons could unite the conservative party. whether or not the divisions of the party will be perpetuated as well be on the divisions of this contest, and also, if either of these candidates can provide the country with a stable and effective government, and can retain the confidence of the house of commons. the edge of the cliff that is facing

the conservative party at the moment is whether or not its internal antagonisms is putting at risk of persistent —— of precipitating the one thing they do not want, which is the general election. the one thing that has to be in place is a government that the comments are willing to keep in place and are willing to keep in place and are willing to keep in place and are willing to allow to govern with a reasonable degree of effectiveness. we are just hearing that boris johnson has arrived back in the uk, he landed at gatwick airport. we know that he was in the caribbean is all of this was unfolding, and the message coming via his supporters is that he is up for standing to be a leader and prime minister again. don't forget, it is only a matter of weeks since he was ousted, because

it was only 45 days that liz truss was in position as premier, so it would be an extraordinary turnaround, and very little if no political precedent is there for this. he is back saying he is up for standing again, we have been talking about how the numbers, but it is yet to be seen if he has the numbers or the desire to go for it. boris johnson one of the three names in the frame to be potentially the next leader and prime minister, the frame to be potentially the next leaderand prime minister, rishi sunak and penny mordaunt the others. we will keep a close eye on it. there have been some extraordinary scenes at china's rulling communist party congress — with the former chinese leader hujintao being led out of the closing ceremony in beijing. as you can see here mr hu was sitting beside president xijinping in the great hall of the people when he was approached by officials who took him by the arm and led him away. it's not clear what was behind

the move during what's usually a highly choreographed event. 0ur correspondent steve mcdonell has more from beijing. incredible scenes there at the great hall of the people this morning. and it's left a lot of people scratching their heads wondering what's going on. i think to unpack this, it's probably best to take it chronologically. so the morning session initially was behind closed doors. then the second part of the last day at the congress, some journalists were allowed into the great hall of the people. hu jintao was sitting in the front row on stage and then in front of the cameras. several officials came along and said to him, you could see the ushering, you should go. he looks like he doesn't want to leave. but then he says something to xijinping, who nods. he tapped his protege, li keqiang, on the shoulder and is helped off the stage. now there are only two possibilities, really. one is that this is sort

of chinese power politics on display with xi jinping out with the old in with him. you know, there's something like that. and that was people's initial feeling, the initial thought of what was going on. really, though, i think what's much more likely is that it's something to do with his health, because when you look at the footage a little bit earlier, when he's still sitting down to his left on stage, other seniorfigures in the party, you can see they're turning to him. they look a bit worried about him. and then when he stands up and the fact that he says something to xijinping and nods, i think what's most likely is that he has some sort of a serious health problem. and that's why china's former leader wasn't able to sit through the final session there at the communist party congress. the new italian government has just been sworn in at a ceremony in the presidential palace in rome.

the leader of the far—right brothers of italy party, giorgia meloni, is now italy's first ever female prime minister and the country's first far—right leader since the world war two. her party won last month's elections with just a quarter of the vote. i'm nowjoined by chiara albanese, bloomberg's political correspondent in italy. what will be the first thing on her agenda? she what will be the first thing on her arenda? , ., what will be the first thing on her arenda? ,, .,, , , what will be the first thing on her arenda? , ., , i. what will be the first thing on her arenda? ,, , i. ., , agenda? she has plenty of matters that require _ agenda? she has plenty of matters that require her _ agenda? she has plenty of matters that require her urgent _ agenda? she has plenty of matters that require her urgent attention, i that require her urgent attention, from energy, from the italian government positioning when it comes to russia's invasion of ukraine, but also tackling inflation and giving italians a clear view and understanding of what her government will be like, because as of now everyone has been left guessing whether she will be a far right politician or a more compromising

leader. ~ _, , ., politician or a more compromising leader. ~ , ., ., ., leader. when it comes to how other countries are _ leader. when it comes to how other countries are going _ leader. when it comes to how other countries are going to _ leader. when it comes to how other countries are going to be _ leader. when it comes to how other countries are going to be observing| countries are going to be observing this and dealing with that government, what is the sense? giorgia meloni, she is not mario draghi, clearly, and leaders in france and germany have been questioning a bit the change of leadership in the middle of an energy crisis, with so many international situations going on. everyone will watch carefully her first moves, and the appointment of her foreign minister is sending a clear message outside italy, which is a message of reassurance. he is a very pro—european, pro—ukraine,

anti—russia politician. so, that is set to reassure international partners. set to reassure international artners. ., set to reassure international partners— set to reassure international artners. ., . ., ., partners. how much of a task as she have in terms _ partners. how much of a task as she have in terms of— partners. how much of a task as she have in terms of keeping _ partners. how much of a task as she have in terms of keeping the - have in terms of keeping the coalition together? that have in terms of keeping the coalition together?— have in terms of keeping the coalition together? that is going to be her number-one _ coalition together? that is going to be her number-one task, - coalition together? that is going to be her number-one task, and - coalition together? that is going to be her number-one task, and also| coalition together? that is going to i be her number-one task, and also her be her number—one task, and also her number one challenge. we have seen how complicated it is to speak with singer voice when your team leaders are silvio berlusconi... we had silvio berlusconi going a bit off track, we have some audio leaked in which berlusconi was praising putin and theirfriendship, salvini was also asking for more power in the coalition, so we will

see a power struggle between the three of them. you see a power struggle between the three of them.— see a power struggle between the three of them. ., ., ., . �* �* three of them. you are watching bbc news. they say that a week is a long time in politics, well that is certainly true this week. what do voters make of what has been happening in westminster? ben boulous has been gauging the mood of voters in the conservative stronghold of romford. if you have an appetite for political drama, what a week it has been. we will reverse almost all the tax measures announced in the growth plan three weeks ago. the prime minister is not under a desk as the— jeering. i am a fighter, not a quitter! i can tell you, in the last couplej of minutes i have been told that suella braverman has resigned as home secretary. _ i have therefore spoken to his majesty the king to notify him that i am resigning

as leader of the conservative party. so what do voters here in romford think is the best way to clean up after what's been a messy week in politics? yeah, yeah, it's time for election, time to get rid of them. their argument, i suppose, those against having an election, say it would just cause more instability, cause problems, markets wouldn't like it. more than what's already been caused? are you sure? i've got no faith in none of them. i've got be honest about that. every time they come in, - they say they'll do something, they'll try something and it always | seems to fail, it's always hollow. | i think they're as bad as each other, it's a pit of vipers. - if there was an election tomorrow, how would you vote? honestly, i'm not sure, i've not really given - it a lot of thought. i think there'sjust so much going on that i lose track. i i feel like boris gets a lot of criticism for what he done

but he had covid to deal with, he had the ukrainian war that's happened, and no matter what he done, he was in the wrong. everyone wanted different things. and ifeel as a young person... i haven't voted, i've never voted, but no parties appeal to us as a young person. what would convince you to vote then? what matters to you the most? the countryjust needs honesty from the government, and what's going on, what's going to happen, and how we're going to solve it, and that's what we need, i think, as a country. and what do you make of all of what you've seen this week? it's a mess. other countries must be looking at us in thinking, "what is going on?" we need to sort it out. who would be a good replacement? who would you like to see in the top job? i don't think it matters really who takes the reins because they're more of a fall guy. as we have seen with liz truss, the real power is with the mp5 behind her. i feel like the market has clearly had quite a lot of power over- liz truss this past month. as soon as she made that decision and they crashed the market, - she was done for, pretty much. so, you know, the markets and the big businesses- are the ones who hold the power. politics has given us plenty to chew over, over the recent days,

and the week ahead is likely to serve up even more. ben boulos, bbc news. borisjohnson in the last short while has landed back in the uk, at gatwick airport, after flying while has landed back in the uk, at gatwick airport, afterflying back from the dominican republic where he was with his family. it is understood they have been there for a few weeks, so it is not sure if this was the moment they were due to come back anyway, or whether their trip has been cut short because of what is going on with the politics and whether or not he is going to stand to return potentially as party leader and prime minister. stand to return potentially as party leaderand prime minister. his supporters say he is up for it, he has not said anything himself stop it looks like he potentially has the support of around 45 mps, but according to some of his supporters he has been on the phone from the dominican republic trying to see what level of support there would be if he does decide to stand. so far it is only penny mordaunt who is

said she will stand for the leadership, the other contender in the frame, rishi sunak, that he has 100 mp5 the frame, rishi sunak, that he has 100 mps backing his standing. he has not formally said he will be standing, but if he has 100 mps, it means he will definitely be on that shortlist, because there needs to be 100 tory backers for each contender, which means they can be a maximum of three. it will be unfolding on monday, and we will keep you updated throughout the day. now it's time for a look at the weather. the weather will be changing all the time across this weekend, whether you are you can expect to see outbreaks at times, but there will be some sunnier breaks, and it is going to feel mild the through rest of today. cloud in some outbreaks of rain continue to journey northwards, sunny spells for england and wales, but some heavy downpours through parts of wales in

the afternoon. some flashes of lightning and rumbles of