Boris Johnson will not run in Tory leadership race
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Boris Johnson has dramatically pulled out the race for 10 Downing Street after admitting he cannot unite the warring Conservative Party.
The former prime minister said he had “reached out” to leadership rivals Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt to see if they could work together in the national interest, but it had not proved possible.
In a statement, he 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.
He went on: “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.
“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.”
Earlier, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris was sent a Whatsapp message to supporters claiming they have the numbers, according to the The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole.
Mr Heaton-Harris told them: “OK everyone! Some very good news! Thanks to all your hard work I can confirm we have completed all the paperwork (verified all nominations, with proposer and seconder) to be on the ballot tomorrow.”
However, supporters of former chancellor Rishi Sunak reacted to the claim with suspicion, suggesting it was a desperate attempt to drum up support.
Backbencher Richard Holden tweeted: “Very odd to brief this out again… (two days in a row). It’s what they briefed yesterday.
“It’s almost as if they still need people and are desperate to show momentum, which they can’t because no-one will publicly come out.”
Under the leadership rules candidates have until 2pm on Monday to get the necessary nominations.
Earlier, Mr Sunak became the second contender formally to declare he is standing, promising to “fix our economy, unite our party and deliver for our country” at a time of “profound economic crisis”.
The former chancellor already has more than 140 MPs publicly backing him, according to some reports, meaning his place on the ballot paper should be secure.
Meanwhile, allies of Penny Mordaunt – who was the first candidate to declare – have disclosed that she has been speaking to Mr Johnson.
The PA news agency understands that he asked her to stand aside and back his campaign, but she refused, saying most of her supporters would switch to Mr Sunak if she pulled out.
The disclosure, however, fuelled speculation that Mr Johnson has been struggling to get the numbers he needs.
His supporters have suggested that the shortfall in public declarations was in part due to the fact that some MPs backing him were reluctant to go public until they are certain he is standing.