The interior minister says she is “grateful for the encouragement”, but would not throw in her hat. She had spent the past four days thinking about posing as the ‘pure’ Brexit candidate.
Ms Patel said: “I will not put my name forward for the vote of MPs.
“As Home Secretary I have always put the safety and security of our country and the national interest first and my focus is to keep working to get more police on our streets, supporting our amazing security forces to keep our country safe and control our borders. †
Ms Patel was warned she risked splitting the vote on the Tory right and securing a coronation for Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor.
Though she has yet to decide who she will support, three of Ms Patel’s allies said she would likely support Truss, the secretary of state.
Ms Patel would also consider whether she would support Nadhim Zahawi, the chancellor, although that was considered less likely.
Earlier, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps fell out of the running and pledged his support to former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who was also backed by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab.
Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader and prominent Eurosceptic, has endorsed Ms Truss.
He said: “Liz has the experience of being Prime Minister, she understands how the government works and has a very clear agenda for both Brexit and the cost of living.
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“Prioritizing growth through regulatory changes and lower taxes is necessary if we don’t want the chewed-up middle to be punished by rising inflation.”
Ms Truss told Tory MPs she would be willing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights over the migration crisis across the canals – but only if plans to review human rights laws are blocked.
She said: “The ECtHR has had mission creep. We have to deal with that.”
Getting Patel’s support would be a coup d’état for Truss, who has already secured the approval of Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit options minister, and Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary.
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James Cleverly, the education secretary and an ally of Boris Johnson, has also given his support.
The Home Secretary’s approval would increase Truss’s chances of winning the votes of Conservative Party members, who choose between the last two candidates elected by Tory MPs.
Ms Patel, 50, has been a key part of Mr Johnson’s government – and one of its staunchest supporters – since her appointment in 2019.
The prime minister made the surprising move to revive her ministerial career in 2019, following her high-profile resignation by his predecessor, Theresa May, two years earlier.
Ms Patel was forced out of her role as Minister of International Development in May following a scandal over unauthorized meetings with the Israeli government that violated the ministerial code.
She was again charged with violating the code over bullying allegations, but was acquitted by Boris Johnson, who overturned an ethics adviser’s recommendation in 2020.