Rishi Sunak faces another by-election challenge as former energy minister Chris Skidmore is poised to resign as an MP, after quitting the Tories over legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling.

Announcing his decision on social media, Mr Skidmore said: "The bill would in effect allow more frequent new oil and gas licences and the increased production of new fossil fuels in the North Sea.

“I can no longer stand by. The climate crisis that we face is too important to politicise or to ignore.”