Report: Boris Johnson to step down
Boris Johnson will resign as party leader today, media reports say. He wants to stay on as prime minister until the autumn – but key conservatives have called for him to leave immediately.
The essentials in a nutshell
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Boris Johnson will step down as Tory leader later today, according to several British media outlets
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However, he wants to remain prime minister until the autumn to implement a regular succession.
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Key Tories have also called for the prime minister to resign immediately.
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Johnson will make a public statement soon.
Journalists in Downing Street on Thursday after Boris Johnson announced his resignation.
Photo: Carl Kort (Getty Images)
Position at 11 o’clock
According to leaks from Downing Street, the Prime Minister wants to step down as party leader today, but remain as Prime Minister until the autumn. Whether he still has the necessary support for this is highly questionable. The British “Guardian” cites two unnamed former ministers who say Johnson should resign as prime minister immediately. As interim prime minister, they bring Justice Minister Dominic Raab into the play. The Tory journalist James Forsyth of the “Observer” also reports on it.
The question of how long Boris Johnson can remain prime minister has long occupied British politics. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, one of Johnson’s arch-enemies, said on Twitter that she wanted Johnson to resign as prime minister immediately. Johnson will make his statement at noon, according to the Financial Times. He will then have to explain how he can continue to rule until the autumn after numerous resignations in his cabinet.
Position 10:45
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign on Thursday, according to broadcasters Sky and the BBC. When his Conservative Party elected a new leader to replace him as prime minister, it was unclear whether Johnson would continue as head of government. The seat of government, 10 Downing Street, is where Johnson plans to address the nation on Thursday.
Johnson has repeatedly rejected calls to resign in the face of continuing scandals surrounding his tenure. In the morning, the new finance minister, Nadim Zahavi, called on the prime minister to step down, less than 36 hours after taking office. ‘Prime Minister, you know what is right in your heart. Go now,” Zahavi wrote in a letter to Johnson on Twitter.
Education Secretary Michelle Donnellan and Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis take the number of Cabinet members who have resigned to five. The total number of resignations from government offices crossed 50 on Thursday morning. Suella Braverman, the previously staunchly loyal chief legal officer, had called on Johnson to resign on live television the night before. However, he did not want to resign at first.
Earlier in the evening, a close Johnson confidant announced that the Prime Minister would not give up. “The prime minister is in an optimistic mood and he will continue to fight,” Johnson’s parliamentary aide James Duttridge told Sky News. Johnson won the mandate of 14 million voters in the last general election and “has a lot to do for the country”.
But on Thursday the tide turned. Johnson wants to stay in office until a successor is chosen, Sky News news channel reported, citing government sources.
Johnson was aware of the allegations
The most recent government crisis at Westminster was sparked by an affair involving Johnson’s party colleague Chris Fincher, who has been accused of sexual harassment. It was previously revealed that Pincher knew about the allegations against Johnson before he was promoted to a key division office. Earlier his spokesperson had repeatedly denied this.
Boris Johnson has not only survived many political scandals but is also known for his eccentric looks.
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