Boris Johnson has agreed to quit as Tory leader after his Cabinet turned against him and urged him to stand down.
He will remain as prime minister until a successor is in place, expected to be by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October.
Mr Johnson faced a delegation of his ministers at Number 10 who told him to quit, as he haemorrhaged support across Conservative party ranks.
A No 10 source said Mr Johnson spoke to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, to inform him of his decision.
Mr Johnson will make a statement later today confirming the decision.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the prime minister staying on until autumn seems “far from ideal”.
1. There will be a widespread sense of relief that the chaos of the last few days (indeed months) will come to an end, though notion of Boris Johnson staying on as PM until autumn seems far from ideal, and surely not sustainable? https://t.co/SQXuCC1HYH
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 7, 2022
More than a dozen ministers, and a line of ministerial aides, resigned as Mr Johnson‘s authority drained away in a dramatic 24 hours.
The mass resignation of ministers, along with a string of parliamentary aides, came after Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid quit their Cabinet posts on Tuesday evening.
Mr Javid’s resignation statement in the Commons said the prime minister was not going to change and “enough is enough”.
Mr Johnson had earlier doubled down and vowed to “keep going” as prime minister, even as his most loyal supporters said the game was up.
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