Other Christian MPs have also pledged their allegiance, with Andrea Leadsom now backing Boris Johnson and Stephen Crabb supporting Sajid Javid.

The Christian Conservative MP for Meriden, Caroline Spelman, who is also the Second Church Estates Commissioner (the MP who liases between the Church and parliament) has told Premier who she is now backing after the Health Secretary Matt Hancock – who she was supporting – pulled out of the race.

Spelman told Premier: “I waited for the TV debate and I have decided after that, and listening to the hustings that I’ve been to, that I will lend my support to Rory Stewart because I think Rory, like Matt, takes a strong position on the question of whether or not we should actually leave the European Union without a deal and that’s very important to me. Having large numbers of people employed in the car industry, we really can’t afford to leave without a deal.”

Spelman spoke recently about the impact of the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant in Solihull moving the production of their Discovery car to Slovakia, and said she was talking to JLR bosses to limit the risk to local jobs.

When asked why she didn’t follow Matt Hancock’s lead to support Boris Johnson, she said: “Boris has said that he’s quite happy to leave without a deal. So, that’s the problem for me.

“I’ve got Jaguar Land Rover, the biggest employer in my constituency, and…

A new global resettlement scheme will come in to replace the vulnerable persons resettlement scheme and others, which have already helped 16,000 refugees since 2015.

Announcing the plans at the start of World Refugee Week, Mr Javid said the new programme would broaden the geographical focus beyond the Middle East and north Africa, and be more responsive to emergencies.

He said: “Since 2016, Britain has resettled more refugees from outside Europe than any other EU state – and it’s vital we continue to do all we can to help the world’s most vulnerable.

“Under our new scheme, thousands more people fleeing conflict and persecution will have the opportunity to build a new life in the UK.

“I’m proud of the world-leading work we have done in the Middle East and Africa so far – but there is so much more to do.”

The vulnerable person’s resettlement scheme concludes next year but work will continue under the new scheme, pulling in the existing routes for vulnerable children and the gateway protection programme.

A new process for emergency resettlement will also be developed, allowing the UK to respond quickly to instances when there is a heightened need for protection, providing a faster route to resettlement where lives are at risk.

The community sponsorship scheme, which enables community groups to directly welcome and support refugees in the UK, will continue over and…