Boris Johnson resigns as prime minister after finally admitting defeat following mass exodus from his government.
He will announce his departure from Number 10 after a dramatic 48-hour period in which a deluge of ministers resigned.
This is what is happening now…
An address to the nation of Downing Street
Like many of his predecessors when they resigned, Mr Johnson will be making a televised address to the nation from outside No10 at some point today.
A No. 10 spokeswoman virtually confirmed this would happen, saying: “The Prime Minister will make a statement to the country today.”
Mr Johnson is expected to take the opportunity to talk about the achievements of his premiership, such as Britain’s departure from the EU, the rollout of the Covid vaccine and the UK’s recent support for Ukraine.
Boris Johnson is expected to make a statement from Downing Street later today to announce his resignation as prime minister
Both Theresa May, in 2019, and David Cameron, in 2016, announced their resignations in a speech in Downing Street
An interim prime minister is called – but will it be Boris?
A No10 source said Mr Johnson had spoken this morning with Sir Graham Brady – the chairman of the Tories’ 1922 committee – and agreed to resign, with a new Tory leader set to be appointed at the party conference in October.
This has raised the prospect that Mr Johnson will remain as Prime Minister for several more weeks while a Conservative leadership contest takes place.
A No10 official said Mr Johnson is planning new ministerial appointments to replace all those who quit this week, as part of an effort to restore a functioning government so he can stay in power for a few more weeks.
However, after the events of the past 48 hours, he is already facing resistance to this plan.
George Freeman, who stepped down as science secretary this morning, dismissed the prospect of Johnson remaining in Downing Street for a short time.
He posted on Twitter: “Boris Johnson must surrender the seals of office, apologize to Her Majesty and advise her to call an interim prime minister.”
Meanwhile, a former minister told MailOnline: ‘We need to get rid of the Johnson poison as soon as possible.’
If not Boris, then who?
Dominic Raab as Deputy Prime Minister seems the obvious choice to take over Mr Johnson for an interim period while a permanent replacement is chosen.
He already has experience at the helm after he replaced Mr Johnson when the Prime Minister was in intensive care with Covid.
There have already been calls for Mr Raab to take over Mr Johnson as soon as possible, including from estranged former chief adviser to Prime Minister Dominic Cummings.
It has also been suggested that ex-Prime Minister Theresa May could be summoned back to Downing Street as caretaker prime minister for a short time.
A well-placed source told the Daily Mail: ‘She knows the tricks of the trade and security, she’s a party girl through and through, she’s definitely not interested in standing up for herself and would be credible. She is uniquely placed.’
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has been touted to take over Mr Johnson on an interim basis as a new Tory leader is elected
Is Boris going to the Queen today?
If anyone other than Mr Johnson temporarily takes the reins, it must be formally done.
Johnson would go to Buckingham Palace to officially resign as Prime Minister in front of the Queen.
He would then recommend his successor – whether that be Mr Raab on an interim basis or someone else.
But if Mr Johnson is allowed to stay a few more weeks while a new Tory leader is elected, he won’t have to go to the palace until later this summer.
A Tory Leadership Match Begins
Mr Johnson’s resignation will kick off a Tory leadership contest, with some contenders battling for weeks.
A Conservative leadership election takes place in two phases, with a timetable for each announced by the 1922 committee.
It starts with candidates putting their own name forward.
All Tory MPs then vote in a series of rounds to narrow down the candidates.
In the first two rounds, the candidates who do not meet a certain threshold are eliminated.
On all subsequent ballots, the last candidate is eliminated, until only two candidates remain.
In the second phase of the leadership contest, the wider Tory party member is voted to choose between the last two candidates.
In the 2019 contest, Johnson defeated Jeremy Hunt by 66 to 34 percent of the vote.
Johnson defeated Jeremy Hunt in the final round of the 2019 Tory leadership match, which took nearly six weeks to complete
How long does it take to choose a new Tory leader?
Due to the circumstances, the Conservative Party will probably want a quick game.
But the requirement for leadership housings ahead of a vote of wider Tory membership means it will be several more weeks.
In 2019, the competition kicked off with the nominations opening on June 10. Mr. Johnson was then declared the overall winner almost six weeks later, on July 23.
But in 2016, when Theresa May was elected leader, the process took much less time because a vote on Tory membership was not necessary.
This is because her latest challenger, Andrea Leadsom, quit the match just days after the parliamentary phase of the process was completed.
If a clear favorite emerges this time in the MPs’ voting rounds, there could be enormous pressure on other candidates to similarly drop out and avoid a membership vote as a way to quickly elect a new leader.
Who is most likely to run for the new Tory leader?
The list of potential leadership candidates is getting longer and longer every day – with large numbers of Tory MPs seeing them for the top job.
But the main contenders are likely to be Secretary of State Liz Truss, ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the replacement for Mr Sunak Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace, Secretary of Commerce Penny Mordaunt and senior backbenchers Tom Tugendhat and Tobias Ellwood.
Former Brexit Secretary Steve Baker and Attorney General Suella Braverman have also said they are considering putting themselves forward.