Boris Johnson has said “no one in politics is remotely indispensable” as he announced his resignation as prime minister after less than three years in Number 10.
Speaking from Downing Street, he thanked the millions of people who voted for him and said the reason why he had fought so long to remain at Number 10 was because “I thought it was my job, my duty and my obligation to you”.
He said he had tried to persuade his cabinet it would be “eccentric” to change prime minister now but “I regret not to have been successful in those arguments”.
Mr Johnson said the process to appoint a new leader would begin now, with a timetable set out next week. There had been intense pressure on the PM to quit after more than 50 resignations from the government payroll, and waves of backbenchers appealing for him to go.