Following a series of mass resignation by his Cabinet members in just three days, Boris Johnson on Thursday quit as the Conservative Party leader, and said will remain the UK Prime Minister, till his replacement is chosen.
Addressing the media outside 10, Downing Street, the 58-year-old embattled British leader, who has faced controversies galore in his 1,079 days in power, said: "It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of the party and therefore a new Prime Minister."
He said that the process of choosing the new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week.
"I've agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of chosing that new leader should begin now - and the timetable will be announced next week and I've today appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place."
The development comes as New Education Secretary Michelle Donelan and Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis have resigned, piling further pressure on Johnson.
Ministers Helen Whately, Damian Hinds, George Freeman, Guy Opperman, Chris Philp, and James Cartlidge have also stepped down.
Boris Johnson has been abandoned by newly-appointed ministers and more than 50 others in a rebellion that had left government dangerously close to standstill.
The latest resignation of eight ministers, including two secretaries of state, quitting in the last two hours, left Johnson isolated and powerless. Johnson is all set to declare that he was stepping down later on Thursday, the BBC reported.
"Boris Johnson will resign as Conservative Party leader today," the BBC's political editor Chris Mason said earlier today, confirming the developments since last week.
(With inputs from agencies)
