Scandal-ridden Boris Johnson quits as UK PM

STORY: Boris Johnson has resigned as leader of the UK's Conservative Party - triggering a battle for a new British prime minister - after he was abandoned by lawmakers who said he was no longer fit to govern.

"It is clearly now of the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister, and I've agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now"

Following months of scandals, backbench disquiet and policy U-turns, all but a handful of allies remained in their posts in Johnson’s government this week.

There had been so many ministerial resignations that the government was facing paralysis.

Johnson even lost the support of finance minister Nadhim Zahawi, who he appointed to the post on Tuesday (July 5).

Johnson hopes to hold on as prime minister until the Autumn, while the Conservatives elect a new leader, a process which could take about two months.