UK’s PM Boris Johnson has announced he is quitting as leader of the Conservative Party after a perilous few days in office.
The crisis engulfing Boris Johnson’s premiership escalated on July 5, following the dramatic resignations of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Boris Johnson intends to stay as an interim leader but pressure is mounting on him to stand down immediately.
He assured cabinet this afternoon he would only act as a caretaker PM while remaining in position, new Welsh Secretary Robert Buckland said.
Now that Boris Johnson has resigned, the Conservative Party will need to choose a new leader. The winner of that contest will become the next PM.
The new PM would not be obliged to call an early election – but could do so if they wished.
When Gordon Brown took over from Labor prime minister Tony Blair in 2007, for example, he did not hold an early election.
If a PM wants an early election they need to make a “request” to the Queen to dissolve Parliament – the official term for closing Parliament in order to hold an election.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters and onlookers at the lectern outside 10 Downing Street, Boris Johnson 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.”
Boris Johnson’s resignation brings an abrupt end to a tumultuous tenure that was distinguished by the landslide victory three years ago and a successful drive to pull Britain out of the European Union, but that collapsed under the weight of a relentless series of scandals.
The 1922 Committee, the powerful body that represents Conservative Party backbench lawmakers, is likely to use the summer vacation to complete the process of selecting the new Conservative Party leader who will become prime minister. At the very latest, they will want to have installed the person by the time of the annual party conference in the fall.
Among the potential candidates are Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid; Liz Truss, the foreign secretary; Suella Braverman, the attorney general; and Nadhim Zahawi, who briefly replaced Mr. Sunak as chancellor. There are also two outsiders: Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign secretary who challenged Boris Johnson for the party leadership in 2019; and Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda contracted the virus in October and went into self-isolation.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has spent two months in hospital in Germany after catching the disease in October – last week he appeared in video for the first time since testing positive, saying he hopes to return to Algeria soon.
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei tested positive in September – despite calling himself “high-risk” he did not appear to suffer a severe case.
President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro,tested positive in July and spent more than two weeks quarantining in his residence.
In June, the outgoing President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, died of an illness suspected by many to be Covid-19.
Russia’s PM Mikhail Mishustin contracted the virus in April and was admitted to hospital with moderate to severe symptoms.
UK PM Boris Johnson tested positive in March – he spent three nights in intensive care in a London hospital, later saying he owed the health workers there his life.
UK’s PM Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds have named their baby boy Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson.
The names are a tribute to their grandfathers and two doctors who treated Boris Johnson while he was in hospital with coronavirus, Carrie Symonds wrote in an Instagram post.
Image source: Carrie Symonds/Instagram
Carrie Symonds also thanked staff at University College London Hospital, saying: “I couldn’t be happier. My heart is full.”
She posted a picture of herself with the baby, who was born on April 29.
The birth came just weeks after Boris Johnson was discharged from intensive care at another London hospital following treatment for coronavirus.
Carrie Symonds wrote on May 2 that their son shares his first name with Boris Johnson’s grandfather, and the first of his middle names, Lawrie, with her own.
Dr. Nick Price and Prof. Nick Hart offered their “warm congratulations” to the prime minister and Carrie Symonds.
They said in a statement: “We are honored and humbled to have been recognized in this way, and we give our thanks to the incredible team of professionals who we work with at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and who ensure every patient receives the best care.
“We wish the new family every health and happiness.”
Boris Johnson’s newborn is only the third baby born to a serving UK prime minister in living memory.
UK voters are going to the polls for the third
general election in less than five years.
Polling stations in 650 constituencies across England, Scotland, Wales, and
Northern Ireland opened at 07:00 GMT.
After the polls close at 22:00 GMT, counting will begin straight away. Most
results are due to be announced in the early hours of December 13.
A total of 650 lawmakers will be chosen under the first-past-the-post system
used for general elections, in which the candidate who secures the most votes
in each individual constituency is elected.
In 2017, Newcastle Central was the first constituency to declare, announcing
its result about an hour after polls closed.
Elections in the UK traditionally take place every four or five years.
However, in October, lawmakers voted for the second snap poll in as many years.
It is the first winter election since 1974 and the first to take place in
December since 1923.
Anyone aged 18 or over is eligible to vote, as long as they
are a British citizen or qualifying citizen of the Commonwealth or Republic of
Ireland and have registered to vote. Registration closed on November 26.
People do not need a polling card to be able to vote but will need to give
their name and address at their local polling station. People can only vote for
one candidate or their ballot paper will not be counted.
PM Boris Johnson has cast his vote – he visited a polling station in central
London, taking his dog, Dilyn, along with him, and Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn voted
in north London.
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has used a postal vote.
Many people have already put a cross next to the name of their favored candidate by voting by post – more than seven million people used a postal vote two years ago.
UK’s PM Boris Johnson has said he will press on
“undaunted” with Brexit on October 31, despite losing a crunch
Commons vote.
He must now ask the EU for an extension to that deadline after the Prliament backed an amendment aimed at ruling out a no-deal Brexit, by 322 votes to 306.
Boris Johnson has told EU Council President Donald Tusk that he will now
send a letter seeking the delay.
Under the terms of the so-called Benn
Act, passed last month by UK lawmakers, he has until 23:00 local time on
October 18 to send it.
Having spoken to the prime minister at 19:15 local time, EU Council
President Donald Tusk tweeted that he was “waiting for the letter”.
An EU source said that once Donald Tusk received the letter, he would start
consulting EU leaders on how to react.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Boris Johnson has vowed to bring in legislation on October 21 to implement
the deal he struck with Brussels this week.
Lawmakers could also be given another vote on the deal then, if Commons
Speaker John Bercow allows it.
The Commons defeat is a major setback for the prime minister, who has
repeatedly insisted that the UK will leave at the end of the month come what
may.
PM Boris Johnson told the Commons he was not “daunted or dismayed”
by the defeat and remained committed to taking Britain out by the end of the
month on the basis of his “excellent deal”.
In a letter to lawmakers and peers on October 19, Boris Johnson warned the
EU could reject “Parliament’s request for further delay”.
He wrote: “It is quite possible
that our friends in the European Union will reject Parliament’s request for
further delay (or not take a decision quickly).”
The PM added that it was to his “great regret” that lawmakers had
voted for more delay, and that he “will not negotiate a delay”.
“I will tell the EU what I have
told the British public for my 88 days as prime minister: further delay is not
a solution,” he said.
Downing Street refused to offer any explanation as to why the prime minister
did not consider he was obliged to negotiate a fresh extension.
The EU said it was up to the UK to “inform it of the next steps”.
According to new reports, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of an act of “direct military aggression” by supplying missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen.
This “may be considered an act of war”, Saudi Arabia state media quoted the crown prince as telling UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in a phone conversation.
On November 4, a ballistic missile was intercepted near Riyadh.
Iran has denied arming the Houthi movement, which is fighting a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s government.
On November 6, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Saudi Arabia’s “wars of aggression” and “regional bullying” were threatening the Middle East.
Houthi-aligned media reported that the rebels had fired a Burkan H2 ballistic missile at King Khaled International Airport, which is about 530 miles from the Yemeni border and 7 miles north-east of Riyadh, on November 4.
Saudi media reported that missile defenses intercepted the missile in flight, but that some missile fragments fell inside the airport area. No casualties were reported.
Human Rights Watch said the launch of an indiscriminate missile at a predominantly civilian airport was an apparent war crime.
On November 7, the official Saudi Press Agency (SAP) reported that in his telephone call with Prince Mohammed, Boris Johnson had “expressed his condemnation of launching a ballistic missile by Houthi coup militias” and affirmed “Britain’s stand with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in confronting security threats”.
“For his part, the crown prince stressed that the involvement of the Iranian regime in supplying its Houthi militias with missiles is considered a direct military aggression by the Iranian regime and may be considered an act of war against the kingdom,” it added.
On November 6, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN that Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, an Iranian proxy, was also involved.
“It was an Iranian missile launched by Hezbollah from territory occupied by the Houthis in Yemen,” he said.
The Gambia intends to rejoin the Commonwealth, UK’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who is in the West African country, has confirmed.
Boris Johnson’s visit, the first to The Gambia by a British foreign secretary, comes weeks after long-time ruler Yahya Jammeh went into exile after losing elections.
Yahya Jammeh took The Gambia out of the Commonwealth in 2013, calling it a neo-colonial institution.
Newly-elected President Adama Barrow had promised a return to the 52-nation grouping.
Before leaving for Banjul, Boris Johnson said: “We will ensure this happens in the coming months.
“The strength of our partnerships show that Global Britain is growing in influence and activity around the world.”
The Commonwealth secretariat said it welcomed the news, saying the formal process of rejoining would have to be agreed by the 52 heads of government.
A spokesman said: “When The Gambia left the Commonwealth in 2013, the heads of government… noted its decision with regret. We looked forward to the country’s eventual return because it was part of our very close knit family and our doors have always remained open.”
Last week, the EU promised The Gambia an aid package of nearly $81 million – almost three years after freezing its assistance to the West African nation.
Adama Barrow, who was sworn in last month, has also said The Gambia will reverse its move to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a statement on February 13, the government said it had written to UN chief Antonio Guterres to inform him of its decision “to discontinue the withdrawal notice”.
In 2016, a former Gambian information minister had referred to the court as “an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans”.
The move is a blow to Africa’s anti-ICC lobby – which includes South Africa, Namibia and Burundi.
At the annual African Union summit held this month, leaders called for a mass walk-out from the ICC, but faced opposition from other countries, including Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia.
The Foreign Office said as well as holding talks with Adama Barrow, Boris Johnson would visit the UK-funded Medical Research Council and speak to Chevening scholars and workers and employers in the tourism industry.
The Gambia is a popular holiday destination for Britons. Thousands had to be evacuated last month because of security concerns when Yahya Jammeh was refusing to hand over power after losing December’s elections.
Adama Barrow, whose swearing-in was held in neighboring Senegal, is to be inaugurated as president in a ceremony at the national stadium on February 18.
Several heads of state are expected to attend. Local dignitaries may include former VP Alhagie Saihou Sabally, who local media said had returned to the Gambia on February 13 after 22 years in exile.
Yahya Jammeh, who took power in coup in 1994, is now in exile in Equatorial Guinea after West African leaders deployed troops to The Gambia to ensure he left power.
Boris Johnson will go on to Ghana for talks with President Nana Akufo-Addo on February 15.
UK’s PM Theresa May has started forming her new government – as she begins her first full day in Downing Street.
Former London mayor and leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson said he was “humbled” having been named new foreign secretary, in one of Theresa May’s first cabinet appointments.
Philip Hammond became chancellor, Amber Rudd is home secretary, and Eurosceptic David Davis is new Brexit secretary.
Photo Facebook
Theresa May later told European leaders she was committed to the UK leaving the EU.
Asked about his first priorities as chancellor, Philip Hammond said there would be “no emergency Budget”.
Philip Hammond said he would work closely with the Bank of England and other economic experts and make “carefully considered decisions over the summer”, followed by an Autumn Statement “in the normal way”.
Before the EU referendum, Philip Hammond’s predecessor George Osborne said he would have to cut public spending and increase taxes in an emergency Budget if the UK voted for Brexit.
In a series of congratulatory phone calls taken by Theresa May on July 13, the UK’s second female prime minister spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s President Francois Hollande and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
A Downing Street spokesman said Theresa May had “emphasized her commitment to delivering the will of the British people to leave the European Union”.
“The prime minister explained that we would need some time to prepare for these negotiations and spoke of her hope that these could be conducted in a constructive and positive spirit,” the spokesman added.
Theresa May will continue to fill out her new cabinet on July 14, with the new secretaries of state for health, education, and work and pensions among those expected to be appointed.
London Mayor Boris Johnson says he intends to renounce his American citizenship to prove his “commitment to Britain”.
He told the Sunday Times that his citizenship was “an accident of birth that has left me with this thing. I’ve got to find a way of sorting it out”.
Boris Johnson, who was born in New York, has in the past been forced to pay US tax because of his American citizenship.
He has just completed a six-day tour of cities in the US.
Boris Johnson said he would approach US ambassador Matthew Barzun to explore what steps he had to take to give up his American nationality.
The Conservative politician – who was born in Manhattan in 1964 and owns a US passport alongside a British one – said that relinquishing his citizenship was a “laborious business, they don’t make it easy for you”.
Boris Johnson’s passport was renewed in November 2012 but he had previously stated that he would give it up after being told in 2006 that, as a native born American, he could only use a US passport to travel in that country, and not his British one.
“The reason I’m thinking I probably will want to make a change is that my commitment is, and always has been, to Britain,” he said.
In January Boris Johnson settled a US tax bill he had previously described as “absolutely outrageous”.
The mayor had faced a demand from the US authorities to pay capital gains tax on profits from the sale of his house in north London.
American law requires all citizens to pay US taxes even if they live abroad.
Boris Johnson is running for parliament in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the forthcoming general election.
In 2012 Boris Johnson told David Letterman that he could “technically speaking” become US president, as that nation requires its presidential candidates to be born there.
His trade mission to the US this week was aimed at bolstering London’s science and technology industries.
Boris Johnson began his east coast tour in Boston before heading to New York City and Washington DC.
Designers, models, singers, actors and a sprinkling of gold medal winning Olympians lit up London’s Royal Opera House for GQ magazine’s annual awards.
GQ (originally Gentlemen’s Quarterly) is an American monthly men’s magazine focusing on fashion, style, and culture for men, through articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books.
GQ Men Of The Year Awards winners are…
Solo Artist – Tinie Tempah
TV Personality – Damian Lewis
Tanqueray Most Stylish – Dermot O’Leary
Comedian– Sacha Baron Cohen
Entrepreneur – Chris Corbin and Jeremy King
Designers – Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana
Designers, models, singers, actors and a sprinkling of gold medal winning Olympians lit up London’s Royal Opera House for GQ magazine's annual awards
London’s Mayor Boris Johnson was left dangling on a zip wire for several minutes when it stopped working at an Olympic live screen event.
Boris Johnson was trying out a 45 m (150 ft) high zip wire at Victoria Park, where the Games are being shown on big screens.
The wire then lost momentum, leaving him suspended “like an odd Christmas decoration” above a crowd of people.
As onlookers snapped photos, he joked: “This is great fun but it needs to go faster.”
London’s Mayor Boris Johnson was left dangling on a zip wire for several minutes when it stopped working at an Olympic live screen event
Lee Medcalf, who was at the event, said: “When Boris came down the zip wire, it was very James Bond-esque with him shouting <<Team GB>>.
“However, he seemed to lose momentum and was left hanging there like an odd Christmas decoration for about five to 10 minutes.
“He spoke to the crowd, which had gathered beneath him, saying <<this is what it’s all about; this is great, this is fantastic, this is Team GB>>.
“I was thinking <<Yeah it’s good, but you’re still just hanging there>>.”
A spokesman for the mayor said: “The mayor has survived his first zip wire experience relatively unscathed.
“Clearly the judges are likely to have marked the mayor down for artistic impression, and unlike team GB, the mayor may not be winning too many Gold medals today.
“He does however remain unbowed.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron said London was “lucky to have” Boris Johnson as mayor.
David Cameron said: “If any other politician got stuck on a zip wire it would be disastrous.
“With Boris it’s a triumph… London is lucky to have him.”
The Olympic torch has been welcomed to Buckingham Palace by members of the royal family, including Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge.
Large crowds gathered across London to see the flame on the penultimate day of its journey around the British Isles.
The torch relay also passed through Downing Street, where it was greeted by Prime Minister David Cameron.
David Cameron earlier said the London Games would show the world “beyond doubt that Britain can deliver”.
The flame ended the day in Hyde Park where the final torchbearer lit a cauldron in front of 60,000 people who have gathered for a celebratory concert.
London Mayor Boris Johnson wished the crowds a “wonderful” Olympics, and thanked them for their support.
“Are we ready? Yes we are,” Boris Johnson said, in a rallying cry to the audience.
The Olympic torch has been welcomed to Buckingham Palace by members of the royal family, including Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge
Meanwhile, Great Britain’s men’s football team is taking on Senegal at Manchester’s Old Trafford ground.
On Friday, the Olympics will be officially opened by the Queen and the torch’s journey will come to an end during the opening ceremony.
A unanimous decision has been made over who will light the Olympic Stadium’s cauldron, LOCOG said, but it will be kept secret until the ceremony.
Earlier, David Cameron told reporters during a news conference at the Olympic Park: “This is a great moment for us. Let’s seize it.”
And he said security was his main concern ahead of the Games – an area he said he takes “personal responsibility for”.
David Cameron described a blunder in which North Korean footballers’ images were shown next to the South Korean flag as an “honest mistake”.
The prime minister called the eve of the Games “a truly momentous day for our country”.
“Seven years of waiting, planning, building, dreaming, are almost over – tomorrow, the curtain comes up, the spectators arrive, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 can officially begin.”
David Cameron also met the Republican candidate for the US presidency, Mitt Romney, during his campaigning and fundraising visit to London.
Mitt Romney had earlier expressed concerns about “disconcerting” signs of a lack of readiness for the Games.
“The stories about the private security firm not having enough people, the supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials – that obviously is not something which is encouraging,” Mitt Romney told a US television station.
It is “hard to know just how well it will turn out”, said Mitt Romney, who managed the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002.
David Cameron responded by saying: “Of course, this is a time of some economic difficulty for the UK. Everybody knows that.
“But look at what we’re capable of achieving as a nation, even at a difficult economic time.”
Mitt Romney, who also met Labour leader Ed Miliband, later said outside Number 10: “I expect the Games to be highly successful.”
In other developments:
• Long queues outside St James’s Park in Newcastle meant some football fans missed the start of Mexico v South Korea
• The PM met David Beckham at Downing Street to discuss how to tackle world hunger. It came ahead of a “hunger summit” on the final day of the Games, Sunday 12 August
• A planned strike by East Midlands Trains (EMT) during the Games was called off after a pensions dispute was settled
• LOCOG apologized after an official football programme listed Welsh footballer Joe Allen as English. It said the error would be corrected for Team GB’s next match
• A global investment conference in London kicked off a series of business summits intended to showcase the UK and attract investment during the Games
• A new record for arrivals at Heathrow is expected to be set on Thursday, with up to 125,000 incoming passengers
Scotland Yard has charged more than 1,000 suspects over the last weeks London riots.
Tim Godwin, London Metropolitan Police acting commissioner hailed a “significant milestone” as he said a total of 1,005 suspects had been charged after 1,733arrests so far.
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Tim Godwin, who said last weekend that the force was aiming for 3,000 convictions, added that the investigation is “far from over”.
Scotland Yard has charged more than 1,000 suspects over the last weeks London riots
Operation Withern – the force’s investigation into the violence and looting last week – includes 500 officers who have gathered 20,000 hours of CCTV (Closed Circuit TV) footage.
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Forensic officers have made more than 300 submissions to labs from more than 1,100 crime scenes, the force added.
Commissioner Godwin hailed also the work of his officers and Londoners over the response to the crisis.
“Our tireless investigations to find those responsible for last week’s appalling violence continue,” he said.
“Officers across the Met are carrying out great police work, day and night, to gather the kind of evidence which has led to these charges.”
“The response from the public in coming forward with information has been fantastic. I want to thank all communities for their help over the last 10 days and ask for their continued support. If you know anyone involved in the disorder tell us – don’t let them get away with it.”
London Mayor Boris Johnson said:
“Thanks to the commitment and hard work of each and every police officer in London, those responsible for the sickening crimes we saw across the capital last week are swiftly being brought to justice.”
“To have already charged 1,000 people is a testament not only to their dedication, but also to the outstanding support they have had from law-abiding Londoners who will not tolerate this behaviour in their communities.”
“We have shone a torch on London’s criminal fraternity, and this milestone sends out the clear message that offenders will be made to pay for their appalling actions.”
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