At 2pm GMT, Boris Johnson will make a speech in which he will announce his resignation, according to British media. In fact, the stormy developments have forced Defence Secretary Liz Truss to return from Indonesia, where she was on her way to the G20.
Boris Johnson has decided to resign as leader of his party after a barrage of resignations by some 60 members of the Conservative government in the UK.
Specifically, as reported by BBC political editor Chris Mason, the British Prime Minister will finally resign within the day.
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According to the Daily Mail, a Downing Street source said Johnson had spoken to the Conservative Committee chairman, the so-called "1922 Committee" which is responsible for internal party affairs, Sir Graham Brady, and agreed to resign, with a new Tory leader to be appointed by the party's conference in October.
However, it is far from clear that Mr Johnson's staying on until October for more than two months will be acceptable to Tory MPs. Some 60 members of the government have resigned and there will be questions about whether they can simply be reappointed, or even agree to it.
The development comes after about a third of all MPs who held non-ministerial posts resigned at the start of the week. At the same time, British news agency Sky News reported that Boris Johnson's resignation was imminent within the day.
The prime minister conceded defeat half an hour after Nadhim Zahawi, who was only appointed on Tuesday night following the departure of Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, told Johnson that his situation was "not sustainable". "This is not sustainable and things will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly for the entire country," he tweeted. "You must do the right thing and go now."
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New resignations on Thursday morning
Richard Graham, Conservative MP for Gloucester, has resigned as trade envoy to several South East Asian states after 10 years in the post, stating that it is vital for him to have "full confidence in the leadership and integrity of the government" he represents.
Earlier, Education Minister Michelle Donelan and Environment Minister Rebecca Poe were added to the long list of resignations (59, now, in total), with Donelan for her part stating that she is resigning less than 48 hours after being appointed because that is the only way to force Prime Minister Johnson to do so.
"I don't see that you can continue in any way, but without a formal mechanism to relieve you of your duties, it seems that the only way to make this possible is to force those of us who remain in cabinet," Donelan wrote in her resignation letter, saying she "begged" Johnson yesterday, Wednesday, to resign. "You have put us in an intolerable situation as someone who puts integrity above all else, I have no choice."
Meanwhile, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he has a duty to keep the country safe and cannot "leave the offices of state empty" but called on his party colleagues to force Boris Johnson to resign from the government.
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"The party has a mechanism for changing leaders and this is the mechanism I advise colleagues to use," Wallace wrote in a message on Twitter.
After nine ministers resigned in the last two hours, Johnson, isolated and helpless, is expected to accept the inevitable and announce later today that he is stepping down, press reports said.
ITV: Johnson spoke to Elizabeth
According to Anushka Astana, deputy head of ITV's political reporting department, Boris Johnson has spoken to Queen Elizabeth ahead of his imminent announcement of his resignation.
Earlier, Buckingham refused to comment on whether Queen Elizabeth had any contact with Boris Johnson this morning to be informed of his intention to resign. The Queen is at Windsor Castle and the court circular recorded that she had her weekly telephone consultation with Johnson last night."
Labour: "Good news for the country."
This is good news for the country, reaction to the news that Johnson's resignation is expected within the day from opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer.
We don't need a change in Tory leadership. We need a real change of government, however, the leader of Britain's main opposition party noted.
Source: Proto Thema
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