Sorry seems to be the hardest word

BORIS Johnson delivered a broadside at the “eccentric” decision by Cabinet colleagues and MPS to force him out as he announced his resignation yesterday.

News emerged shortly after

9am that the Prime Minister would announce his resignation. He did so in a speech in front of No.10.

The Prime Minister intends to remain in office until his successor is elected, a process that could take months, prompting a backlash from party grandees and political opponents over his attempt to “cling on” in No 10 until the autumn.

He assembled a new-look Cabinet to replace the ministers who quit or were sacked since the political bloodbath began on Tuesday.

In an unapologetic resignation statement, Mr Johnson said he had fought to stay on because of a sense of “duty” to the “millions of people who voted for us” in 2019 when he won a landslide election victory.

“I have tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we are delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we are actually only a handful of points behind in the polls,” he said.

But, “I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and of course it is painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself”.

Since Tuesday evening almost 60 MPS quit government or party posts and yesterday morning newly appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi went public with a call for Mr Johnson to go.

“As we’ve seen, at Westminster the herd instinct is powerful, when the herd moves, it moves,” the Prime Minister said.

He added: “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.”

The caretaker administration appointed by Mr Johnson ahead of his resignation announcement included Greg Clark as the new Levelling Up Secretary, while James Cleverly has been made Education Secretary – the third person to hold that role in as many days.

Sir Robert Buckland returns to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales, following the resignation of Simon Hart.

Kit Malthouse is the new Chancellor of the Duchy of

Lancaster and Shailesh Vara is the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, replacing Brandon Lewis who quit early yesterday.