Boris Johnson quits as British PM

Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday as leader of Britain's Conservative party, paving the way for the selection of a new Prime Minister after dozens of ministers quit his scandal-hit government. He said he will continue in office until a new Conservative leader is in place."The process of choosing a new leader should begin now. And  I have appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will until a new leader is in place," Johnson said outside 10 Downing Street.Johnson said he was "sad... to be giving up the best job in the world" and justified fighting on in the final hours to deliver the mandate he won in a general election in December 2019.

The timetable for a Tory leadership race will be announced next week, he said, after three tumultuous years in office defined by Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and non-stop controversy over his reputation for mendacity. The Conservatives will now have to elect a new leader, a process which could take weeks or months. The crisis comes as Britons are facing the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, with soaring inflation, and the economy forecast to be the weakest among major nations in 2023 apart from Russia.

"His resignation was inevitable," Justin Tomlinson, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, said on Twitter. "As a party we must quickly unite and focus on what matters. These are serious times on many fronts." Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said he would call a parliamentary confidence vote if the Conservatives did not remove Johnson at once.