Boris Johnson to resign as prime minister

Boris Johnson will today resign as prime minister as he finally bows to the pressure of numerous government resignations. But he plans to continue to serve as prime minister until the autumn to allow a Tory leadership contest to take place in the summer.

Several MPs call for a caretaker prime minister to brought in to stop Mr Johnson from leading through the summer.

The confirmation came short after Mr Johnson's newly appointed Education Secretary Michelle Donelan resigned after just 36 hours in the post. New Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi told the prime minister to "go now".

Labour leader Keir Starmer welcomes the news, saying the Conservatives have "inflicted chaos upon the country" during a cost of living crisis.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also confirmed he had withdrawn his support for the PM, and earlier, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis resigned from his post.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is cutting short her trip to a G20 meeting in Indonesia and returning to London.

The mass rebellion began on Tuesday after Downing Street admitted the PM knew about allegations of inappropriate behaviour against disgraced former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher in 2019 , but still appointed him in February.