Boris Johnson will today resign as prime minister as he finally bows to the pressure of swathes of government resignations.
A No 10 source said Mr Johnson had spoken to the chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, and agreed to stand down, with a new Tory leader set to be in place by the party’s conference in October.
But former minister George Freeman, who quit his role earlier in protest against the PM’s leadership, said a caretaker should be put in place, rather than letting him continue to lead over the summer.
A Number 10 spokesman said: “The prime minister will make a statement to the country today.”
Politics Hub: Boris Johnson is to resign – live reaction and analysis
The confirmation came shortly after Mr Johnson’s newly appointed Education Secretary Michelle Donelan resigned following just 36 hours in the post, and new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi told the prime minister to “go now”.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also confirmed he had withdrawn his support for the PM, and earlier, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis resigned from his post.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “good news for the country” that Mr Johnson was stepping down, adding: “It should have happened long ago.”
There has been intense pressure on Mr Johnson to quit after more than 50 resignations from all levels of government, and waves of backbenchers appealing for him to go.
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.
Before the admission, government ministers had been sent out to defend Mr Johnson on the airwaves, and told to say their boss was unware of “specific” allegations.
Minutes after Mr Johnson apologised, saying appointing Mr Pincher was a “mistake”, Health Secretary Sajid Javid announce his departure, followed swiftly by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Their exits began an avalanche of resignations at all levels, from cabinet ministers to trade envoys.
But speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Johnson dismissed calls to quit, saying: “The job of a prime minister in difficult circumstances when he has been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going, and that’s what I am going to do.”
And earlier this morning, a senior Number 10 source told Sky News the PM was remaining “absolutely defiant”, “does not intend to resign”, and wanted to “fight on”.
After the news broke of the impending resignation, Sir Keir said the PM “was always unfit for office”.
The Labour leader added: “He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale.
“And all those who have been complicit should be utterly ashamed.”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted there would be “a widespread sense of relief” that the “chaos” was coming to an end.
But the SNP leader added: “[The] notion of Boris Johnson staying on as PM until autumn seems far from ideal, and surely not sustainable?”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said Mr Johnson would “go down in history as a lying law-breaking prime minister, who abused the trust and patience of the British people.”
She added: “He will leave a stain on the Conservative Party that can’t be removed.”