UK’s Boris Johnson to step down

Boris Johnson has filled vacant posts in his cabinet, after a slew of resignations in the past two days.

By BBC

London, July 7, 2022: Mr Johnson has stood down as Tory party leader and these ministers will remain in place until a new Conservative leader and PM is elected.

Greg Clark has been named new levelling up secretary, and James Cleverly as education secretary.

And Robert Buckland returns to the cabinet, as Wales’s secretary.

Shailesh Vara becomes Northern Ireland secretary; Kit Malthouse has been appointed chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Andrew Stephenson as minister without portfolio.

In his resignation speech, Mr Johnson said he had appointed a new a cabinet to serve until a successor is elected to replace him as Tory leader.

He said: “It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister.

“And I’ve agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, which the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week.

“And I’ve today appointed a Cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.”

But some Tory MPs have urged Mr Johnson to go now to avoid government paralysis.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson must not be allowed to “cling on” in No 10 once he has resigned and threatened to use a confidence motion in Parliament to oust him.

“If they don’t get rid of him, then Labour will step up in the national interest and bring a vote of no confidence because we can’t go on with this prime minister clinging on for months and months to come,” Sir Keir said.

Former minister Sir Bob Neill told MPs there was a “serious question mark” over how long a “caretaker” prime minister could stay in place.

“Might it not be in everybody’s interest to speed up the transition as much as possible?” he added.

New Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark has said that he will do his best to “provide stability”.

The newly-appointed minister, who replaced a sacked Michael Gove, tweeted: “We have a duty to ensure that the country has a functioning government in the weeks ahead.”

The appointments follow a dramatic 48 hours which saw dozens of ministers – including former chancellor Rishi Sunak – resigning and plunging Mr Johnson’s leadership into crisis.

Mr Sunak’s replacement as chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was among the ministers urging the PM to quit.

Mr Johnson resisted the calls until Thursday morning, when it became clear that he had lost the confidence of his MPs and that the government could no longer function.

Less than three years ago, Mr Johnson won an historic landslide victory in a general election – but he has been dogged by controversy in recent months, including a fine for breaking his own lockdown laws.

The revolt this week was triggered by revelations about the prime minister’s handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher.