BORIS Johnson will RESIGN this morning after a brutal Cabinet coup and flood of Tory resignations imploded his premiership.
The PM will tell the nation that he is quitting and a new Tory leader will be in post by party conference in October.
A spokesperson for Mr Johnson said: “The Prime Minister will make a statement to the country today.”
The Sun understands the PM will stay in post until October at which point he will conduct an “orderly handover”.
In an assassination attempt with echoes of Thatcher’s removal, Cabinet members yesterday saw the PM individually to demand he quits.
This morning newly appointed Education Secretary Michelle Donelan and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi became the latest cabinet ministers to make public pleas for Mr Johnson to resign.
A race to replace him as Tory leader and British PM will now begin.
Big Conservative hitters like Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi, Liz Truss, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt all expected to have a tilt.
On a dramatic day in Westminster
- A “Quit Squad” of once Boris allies filed into his office to tell him to leave
- Nearly 60 Tory MPs resigned as government ministers or aides
- Dozens of backbench Conservatives withdrew their support for the PM
- Mr Johnson remained defiant at two Commons grillings
- He faced more accusations around the Chris Pincher scandal
Mr Johnson has been reeling from the Chris Pincher groping scandal first revealed by The Sun last Thursday.
The crisis climaxed in the past 24 hours when Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid both quit the Cabinet and called for him to go.
It fired the starting gun on a wave of ministerial resignations that has so far swelled to around 40 Tories.
Previously loyal Conservative backbenchers withdrew their support and demanded the PM steps down for the good of the party and country.
Until hours ago the PM was defiantly vowing to remain in post and even fight to win the next election.
He told the Commons: “The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when he’s been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going – and that’s what I’m going to do.”
But Cabinet Ministers including Nadhim Zahawi, Grant Shapps and Simon Hart took matters into their own hands.
They waited for Mr Johnson to arrive back in No10 and then told him to quit.
Even ultra-loyalist Priti Patel turned to urge the PM throw in the towel after backbench support drained away.
Tory plotters had prepared to take matters into their own hands by changing the 1922 committee rules, but are now waiting for Monday.
Ex-Health Secretary Mr Javid attempted to deliver the fatal blow with a blistering resignation speech in the packed Commons.
The big beast said: “At some point we have to conclude that enough is enough. I believe that point is now.
“The reset button can only work so many times. There’s only so many times you can turn that machine on and off before you realise something is fundamentally wrong.”
More Conservative rebels stuck the knife in during PMQs and asked if there was anything that would make him resign.
Mr Johnson was elected as PM in 2019 on a wave of optimism and with a pledge to Get Brexit Done.
The PM was praised for winning Red Wall seats that for too long had been taken for granted by Labour.
Source: The Sun