Boris Johnson has resigned Prime Minister as Tory MPs turned against him after months of sleaze and scandal.
The desperate Prime Minister finally caved to pressure from his own MPs to quit as all but his most loyal allies abandoned him.
In a statement outside No10, Mr Johnson told the nation he would leave his post after just shy of three years in Downing Street, adding: "I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them's the breaks.''
But he was unrepentant in the seven-minute speech, saying his attempts to stay in power had been rejected by "herd instinct".
Boos and jeers could be heard from the street outside Downing Street as he made his speech, which was met by applause from a small group of loyal MPs could be seen waiting in the street to show their support.
Mr Johnson said it was the will of the party that he stand down and he would "serve until a new Conservative leader is in place", in a move likely to anger Tory MPs.
Addressing Tory voters directly, the bullish Prime Minister hailed his mandate in 2019 and said he fought “so hard” to stay because “I wanted to do so” and felt “it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you, to continue to do what we promised in 2019.”
Mr Johnson said: "In the last few days I’ve tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much, when we have such a vast mandate and when we’re actually only a handful of points behind in the polls, even in mid-term after quite a few months of pretty relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally."
In a dig at his Cabinet colleagues, he said: ""I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and of course it's painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself.
"But as we've seen, at Westminster the herd instinct is powerful, when the herd moves, it moves.
"And my friends in politics, no one is remotely indispensable and our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times."
At no point did he offer an apology for his conduct.
Mr Johnson's premiership has been dogged by a seemingly never-ending wave of scandals, from Partygate to the row about who paid for the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat.
But his decision to appoint Chris Pincher as Deputy Chief Whip in February - despite being informed of a complaint about his conduct in 2019 - appeared to finally tip mutinous Tories over the edge.
The PM's downfall began in earnest on Tuesday night when Cabinet Ministers Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak sensationally resigned only minutes apart.
Their shock departures triggered a wave of resignations from Tory ministers and aides, as the mood in the party turned against Mr Johnson.
On Wednesday, the PM insisted he would stay on, and his Press Secretary confirmed he will challenge any bid to oust him for a second time - despite three Conservatives telling him to his face to go at PMQs.
But the resignations continued, with a stream of Tories quitting their posts while the PM endured an excruciating grilling by the Commons Liaison Committee.
In dramatic scenes, a delegation of Cabinet ministers went to Downing Street to tell him to resign, including grim-faced Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Welsh Secretary Simon Hart.
Reports suggested newly appointed Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Education Secretary Michelle Donelan - who were both appointed on Tuesday night - were among the group who went for the showdown with Mr Johnson.
But ultra-loyalist Nadine Dorries was also spotted entering No10 in a last-ditch bid to persuade Mr Johnson to stay on.
Mr Johnson dug in on Wednesday night and lashed out by sacking Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove in a last ditch show of strength.
But a string of senior Tories resigned on Thursday in the wake of his bullish response, including Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis and Michelle Donelan, the newly appointed Education Secretary.
Calls for him to go from his new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and the flurry of further resignations appeared to be the final nail in the coffin for Mr Johnson.
Read Boris Johnson's resignation speech in full
“Thank you, thank you!
“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.
“And I’ve agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our back bench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now.
“The timetable will be announced next week and I’ve today appointed a Cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.
“So I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019, many of them voting Conservative for the first time, thank you for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979.
“And the reason I have fought so hard in the last few days to continue, to deliver that mandate in person, was not just because I wanted to do so but because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you, to continue to do what we promised in 2019.
“And of course I’m immensely proud of the achievements of this government, from getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for over half a century.
“Reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in Parliament. Getting us all through the pandemic. Delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown, and in the last few months, leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
“And let me say now to the people of Ukraine, I know that we in the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes.
“At the same time, in this country, we’ve been pushing forward a vast programme of investment, in infrastructure and skills and technology, the biggest in a century.
“Because if I have one insight into human beings it is that genius and talent and enthusiasm, imagination, are evenly distributed throughout the population but opportunity is not.
“And that’s why we must keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential of every part of the UK.
“And if we can do that in this country we will be the most prosperous in Europe.
“In the last few days I’ve tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much, when we have such a vast mandate and when we’re actually only a handful of points behind in the polls.
“Even in mid-term after quite a few months of pretty relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally.
“I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and of course it’s painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself.
“But as we’ve seen at Westminster the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves it moves, and my friends in politics no one is remotely indispensable.
“Our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times, not just helping families to get through it but changing and improving the way we do things.
“Cutting burdens on businesses and families and yes, cutting taxes, because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay for great public services.
“And to that new leader, whoever he or she may be, I say I will give you as much support as I can.
“And to you the British public - I know there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed.
“And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them’s the breaks.
“I want to thank Carrie and our children, all the members of my family who have had to put up with so much for so long.
“I want to thank the peerless British civil service for all the help and support you’ve given, our police, our emergency services, and of course our fantastic NHS who at a critical moment helped to extend my own period in office.
“As well as our armed services and our agencies that are so admired around the world, and our indefatigable Conservative Party members and supporters whose selfless campaigning makes our democracy possible.
“I want to thank the wonderful staff here, at Chequers, here at No10, and our fantastic prop force detectives - the one group, by the way, who never leak.
“Above all I want to thank you, the British public, for the immense privilege you have given me.
“And I want you to know that from now on until the new Prime Minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government and the country will be carried on.
“Being Prime Minister is an education in itself. I've traveled to every part of the UK.
“And in addition to the beauty of our natural world I've found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality, and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways, I know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden.
“Thank you all very much.”
