Tory leadership candidate Rory Stewart has said he would set up a rebel parliament and “bring down” Boris Johnson if he tried to shut down the Commons to force a no-deal Brexit.

Stewart, who made it into the second round of the contest on Thursday, said such a move by the next prime minister would be “unconstitutional”.

It was reported in The Times today that Johnson has privately told Tory backbenchers he could prorogue the current parliamentary session to stop MPs preventing the UK from leaving the EU on October 31 with or without a deal.

Johnson is the runaway frontrunner in the contest to replace Theresa May which was cut to seven candidates today.

Speaking to Sky News after the results of the first ballot in the leadership race, Stewart said Johnson would be prevented from suspending parliament.

“He won’t be able to. I guarantee you,” he said.

“If he were to try, I and every other member of parliament will sit across the road in Methodist Central Hall and we will hold our own session of parliament and we will bring him down because you do not, ever, lock the doors on parliament in this country, or in any other country with any respect in the world.” 

Stewart received 19 votes from his fellow Tory MPs. Johnson came first with 114.

Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey were all eliminated from the contest as they failed to reach the threshold of 17.