By Boris Johnson has formally resigned as UK Prime Minister.
Johnson announced his resignation in a televised address at No 10 Downing Street on Thursday.
The embattled leaader had ran into problems after over 50 government officials resigned from his administration following a slew of recent scandals.
On Tuesday, Health minister Sajid Javid and his finance counterpart Rishi Sunak, who are considered as pillars of the Johnson administration, both resigned — a development that opened the floodgate of resignations by other ministers of various ranks and their aides.
Johnson had defied calls by his cabinet to step down in the wake of ethics scandal. He, however, later bowed to pressure after more than 50 members of his government quitted and told him to go.
Announcing his resignation, he said: “It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader.”
Johnson said he’s “immensely proud” of his achievements, citing Brexit, managing the country through the pandemic and “leading the West” in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
“I know that there will be many people who are relieved, and perhaps quite a few who will be disappointed. I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world,” he said.
The outgoing PM said he will give the next leader of the Conservative Party as much support as he can, adding that he will stay in office until a new leader is appointed.
“Our future together is golden,” he signed off his speech.
In a related development, a string of new appointments to fill cabinet-level jobs left vacant by resignations have been announced.
They include Greg Clark as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, James Cleverly as Secretary of State for Education, Robert Buckland as Secretary of State for Wales, Kit Malthouse as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Shailesh Vara as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
