UK prime minister announces departure following mass resignations

cointelegraph.com:

Boris Johnson, who has been the prime minister of the United Kingdom since 2019, said he will step down as leader of the country’s Conservative Party but will remain head of state until a replacement has been found.

In a speech in front of 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday, Johnson said “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,” with a transition timetable set to be announced next week. The prime minister added that he would remain in government, as would recently-appointed cabinet members, to serve until the party decided on a new leader.

The Prime Minister @BorisJohnson makes a statement. https://t.co/EfgXuyazjw

Many in Johnson’s government and opposing political parties had called for his resignation following reports the prime minister knew former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher had allegedly groped two men but chose to promote him to a senior position. This week, Chancellor of the Exchequer for the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak and Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen both announced they would be leaving their positions in Johnson’s cabinet in response to his handling of the allegations, as did more than 50 members of parliament before the prime minister’s speech on Thursday.

Nadhim Zahawi, a member of parliament for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010, has taken over for Sunak as chancellor of the Exchequer. At the time of publication, the U.K. government had not announced a replacement for Glen, who said in his resignation letter that “vital reforms" to the country’s financial services were ready to be presented to parliament.

The Prime Minister has made the right decision to resign. I pay tribute to his