MICHAEL HOWARD last night looked set to be crowned Tory leader following Iain Duncan Smith's defeat in a vote of confidence.

A succession of would-be contenders stepped down in Mr Howard's favour within hours of the result of the ballot of MPs being announced.

They were led by shadow deputy prime minister David Davis, who said: "For the sake of the country and the Conservative Party I have decided to stand aside from this contest in favour of Michael Howard, who I believe will be well placed to unify the party and win the next election."

But Mr Howard, 62, is not expected to confirm his intention to stand until this afternoon, and nominations do not officially close until next Thursday - leaving time for the "dream team" scenario of Mr Howard backed by Mr Davis to fall apart.

The day of drama at Westminster came to a climax at 6.59pm when chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee Sir Michael Spicer announced that Mr Duncan Smith had lost the confidence vote by 90 votes to 75.

The defeat forced him to resign immediately, although it was nowhere near as embarrassing as some commentators had predicted.

Minutes later, Mr Duncan Smith, accompanied by his wife Betsy, stood outside Conservative Central Office and said: "The Parliamentary party has spoken - and I will stand down as leader when a successor has been chosen. I will give that new leader my absolute loyalty and support."

Within minutes, the manoeuvring to succeed him began, with news filtering through that Mr Howard would not be challenged by several senior colleagues who had been tipped as contenders."