Johnson agrees to stand down as Prime Minister following mass resignations

Update, 12.30pm: Boris Johnson announced that he will be resigning as leader of the Conservative Party, remaining as Prime Minister until a new leader has been elected. The timetable for the Tory leadership election will be announced next week.

Boris Johnson has agreed to stand down as Prime Minister following an unprecedented number of ministerial resignations from the Tory frontbench.

A Downing Street source said this morning that Johnson has spoken to 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady and said it was appropriate that he go and for the party to pick a new leader in time for Conservative conference in October.

No 10 has issued a statement, which said that Johnson “will make a statement to the country today”. The Prime Minister is expected to make an address from Downing Street before lunchtime.

The decision to vacate his post as Prime Minister came after Johnson saw more than 50 Conservative ministers resign from his frontbench after Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak quit Johnson’s team on Monday evening.

Commenting on the news that Johnson has agreed to resign, Keir Starmer said: “It is good news for the country that Boris Johnson has resigned as Prime Minister. But it should have happened long ago. He was always unfit for office.

“He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale. And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed. The Tory Party have inflicted chaos upon the country during the worst cost of living crisis in decades. And they cannot now pretend they are the ones to sort it out.

“They have been in power for 12 years. The damage they have done is profound. 12 years of economic stagnation. 12 years of declining public services. 12 years of empty promises. Enough is enough. We don’t need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government. We need a fresh start for Britain.”

This is a breaking story and will continue to be updated.