Old Brexit ally Lord Frost reluctantly says: Time to go...

LORD Frost last night told Boris Johnson he should quit for the sake of the country and the Conservative Party.

The former Brexit minister, who resigned from his Cabinet post last December, said there needed to be a new leader.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the peer wrote: ‘Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid have done the right thing.

‘It gives me no pleasure to say it, and I had hoped that events might have taken a different course, but I’m afraid the developments of the last week show there is no chance of the Prime Minister either putting in place the necessary change of approach to running a government or establishing a new policy direction.

‘Boris Johnson has huge achievements to his credit. He has a place in history for delivering Brexit and much more. But it is now time to look forward. Accordingly, and with sadness, I believe the interests of the country, our new-found self-government, and the Conservative Party would be best served by new leadership and a new Prime Minister.’

Lord Frost has become a vocal critic of Mr Johnson as he has called for him to return to a traditional Conservative agenda. Last month he gave his strongest indication yet that he plans to stand to become a Tory MP at the next general election.

He said the confidence vote against Mr Johnson showed ‘the large part of the party is uncomfortable with the direction of travel’. Asked if he plans to stand at the next election, Lord Frost told BBC Radio Derby: ‘If the party wants me to and a local party is interested in having me, then obviously I’d take that seriously.

‘And I hope by then, the Government will be back on track and have some results that we can credibly campaign on.’