BORIS JOHNSON QUITS AS TORY LEADER BUT WILL REMAIN PM UNTIL SUCCESSOR IS CHOSEN

Boris Johnson is to quit his role as Tory leader after further resignations and calls for him to go this morning.

Mr Johnson informed Graham Brady who is the chair of the 1922 committee of his resignation, putting the wheels in motion for a party leadership battle which will see his replacement selected before the party conference in October.

His resignation came after a mass exodus of Tory ministers sparked by news that the PM had appointed the now disgraced MP Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip, despite being aware of a formal complaint against him in 2019.

On Wednesday 29 June, the MP Chris Pincher went to a private members' club in London. In his words, he "drank far too much" and "embarrassed himself".

He was accused of groping two men, which led to flurry of allegations, some dating back years. It set off a chain of events that ended with the prime minister's downfall.

Since Tuesday 5 July there has been a mass exodus of staff from prominent party roles, sparked by the resignations of the then chancellor Rishi Sunak and the now former Health Secretary Savid Javid.

Both men wrote scathing resignation letters calling for the PM to step down, since then over 60 Tory MP's have followed suit, with the recently appointed replacement Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi being the latest to go public with his calls for Boris to go.

The PM had remained defiant, vowing to ride out the storm and remain as leader but that was made increasingly impossible as staff continued to quit this morning, news of his intention to stand down early this morning as the intense pressure from his own MP's forced his hand.

In June the Prime Minister’s authority was substantially undermined by a confidence vote which saw 41% of his own MPs withdraw their support.

As late as just last night Mr Johnson wielded his axed by sacking his Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove after he came forward to call for his resignation.

A No 10 source told the BBC at the time:

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"You can't have a snake who is not with you on any of the big arguments who then gleefully tells the press the leader has to go."

Meanwhile, opposition leader, Sir Kier Starmer said that the PM's resignation is 'Good News' for the country but added that change at the top was not enough and that we need a General Election and a change of government. 

He said:

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“It is good news for the country that Boris Johnson has resigned as Prime Minister. But it should have happened long ago. He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale. And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.

“The Tory Party have inflicted chaos upon the country during the worst cost of living crisis in decades and they cannot now pretend they are the ones to sort it out. They have been in power for 12 years.

“The damage they have done is profound. 12 years of economic stagnation, 12 years of declining public services, 12 years of empty promises. Enough is enough.

“We don’t need to change the Tory at the top - we need a proper change of government. We need a fresh start for Britain.”