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Ex-PM Boris Johnson pulls out of race for 10 Downing Street
Boris Johnson has dramatically pulled out the race for 10 Downing Street on Sunday evening (Oct 23) after admitting he cannot unite the warring Conservative Party.
He claimed he had the support needed to stand but said it would not be "the right thing to do."
In a statement, Johnson insisted he had secured the 100 nominations needed to get onto the ballot paper - and that if he stood there was a "very good chance" he would be back in Downing Street by the end of the week.
"But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can't govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament," he went on.
"And though I have reached out to both Rishi and Penny - because I hoped that we could come together in the national interest - we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this."
"Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds," the former prime minister said.
Sunak, a former chancellor of the exchequer, praised Johnson, saying "we will always be grateful" for his actions during the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The Daily Mail says Rishi Sunak is firmly on course to become the new prime minister.
A campaign source for Penny Mordaunt tells the Daily Telegraph that she will fight on, saying "it's looking good".
Boris Johnson has 100 backers in UK leadership contest
Penny Mordaunt is a way off securing 100 backers - she must do so by 2pm to get her name on the ballot paper.
The Metro says that unless Penny Mordaunt finds another 75 nominations within hours, a vote by party members will not go ahead and Sunak will be declared the winner.
Johnson returned to Britain on Saturday (Oct 22) to plot a second run for the top job, in a move that has divided opinion among Conservative lawmakers including his former allies.
Rishi Sunak leads PM race as Boris Johnson arrives in London
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer criticised the "ridiculous, chaotic circus" taking place at the top of the Conservative Party as he repeated his call for a general election.
Tory lawmakers will vote on Monday, and two candidates will be put forward to the party membership unless one pulls out, with a result being announced on Friday (Oct 28).
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