Piers Morgan laid into Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation speech on Thursday (7 June).
Johnson announced he would be leaving the role once a successor was elected in autumn following mass resignations from the ministerial ranks and a cabinet revolt.
Johnson made it clear in his speech that it was not his desire to step down from the role, but acknowledged it was “clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader”.
Following the speech, Morgan wrote on Twitter: “Boris Johnson quits as he led – boasting, blathering & blaming everyone but himself. What a terrible final speech by a man who turned out to be a truly terrible Prime Minister.”
In a follow-up tweet, the TalkTV presenter added: “Boris Johnson cannot possibly be allowed to linger on like the lamest of lame duck Prime Ministers, especially when most of his own ministers have expressed no confidence in him. We have a pandemic, war & financial crisis to handle, we need real leadership not this farce.”
Indeed, Johnson is likely to face intense pressure to leave office with immediate effect, making way for a caretaker leader such as Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister.
One former minister told The Guardian: “He needs to be gone by tonight. Raab should take over.”
“He needs to hand in the seals of office today and go, so we can have a caretaker PM,” said another.
Once Johnson officially announces his resignation, the timetable for a contest is agreed by the 1922 Committee and Tory Party HQ, with a new Tory leader expected to be in place by the party conference in October.
Morgan is just one of a number of celebrities who expressed joy in the prime minister’s resignation.
