Boris Johnson has resigned from office as UK prime minister following mass resignations from key members of his cabinet.
BBC’s political editor Chris Mason reported early on Thursday that Mr Johnson planned to stay as prime minister until autumn so that a Conservative leadership contest can be held and a replacement confirmed.
The BBC also reported that a campaign to replace Mr Johnson had begun.
“Suella Braverman has expressed an interest in the top job and there will be others including – but not limited to – Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhat and Jeremy Hunt,” Iain Watson said on Thursday.
This week, there have been over 50 resignations from Mr Johnson’s government.
The resignations saw a spike, mostly from junior ministers, after the departures of Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Wednesday.
The collapse in cabinet support came after it was revealed that Mr Johnson promoted Tory MP Chris Pincher despite knowledge of misconduct claims against him.
Recently appointed Education Minister Michelle Donelan is the latest to leave Mr Johnson’s administration, as she resigned a day after being promoted to Education Minister, replacing Nadhim Zahawi.
Mr Johnson’s time as prime minister was tumultuous as he had faced multiple scandals including scaling a confidence vote last month.
The resignations came as Mr Johnson apologised for supporting a former minister despite complaints of sexual misconduct being made against him. The latest scandal came as a former senior official said Mr Johnson had been briefed in person on alleged wrongdoing by Tory MP Chris Pincher.
As of Wednesday, several cabinet ministers have clarified that they will not be leaving the government. The ministers included Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Home Secretary Priti Patel, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, and International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
