Science minister and Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman has confirmed he supported the Prime Minister in yesterday's confidence vote.

Mr Freeman had previously refused to say whether or not he would be supporting Boris Johnson in the confidence vote, in which the PM secured support from just 59pc of Conservative MPs.

But the MP took to Twitter this evening (June 7) to back Mr Johnson, saying: "The PM has rightly apologised for events in Number 10 and made clear his commitment to re-earn trust.

"Last night's confidence vote means we can move on & focus on tackling the big challenges of economic & geopolitical security: now is not the time for a leadership contest."

Before this, Mr Freeman had not confirmed what side of the vote he would be on, but said it would be critical for the government "to command public trust and confidence" in the coming months.

The Times' Henry Zeffman asked in a reply to Mr Freeman's tweet: "Just to confirm: did you vote for him".

Mr Freeman simply replied: "Of course."

The MP disputes that his previous comments were vague, saying he had made clear that he supported the PM but would not now be drawn into a "Twitter outing/Witch Hunt" when asked how he had actually voted.