Boris Johnson resigns as UK PM but stays in power until a successor is chosen
Months of defiance ended almost with a shrug as Johnson stood outside 10 Downing Street, and conceded that his party wanted him gone.
“Them’s the breaks,” he said.
The brash, 58-year-old politician who took Britain out of the European Union and steered a rough path through the COVID pandemic was brought down by one scandal too many - this one involving his appointment of a politician who had been accused of sexual misconduct.
The messiest of prime ministers did not leave cleanly. Johnson stepped down immediately as Conservative Party leader but said he would remain as prime minister until the party chooses his successor. The timetable for that process will be announced next week. The last leadership contest took six weeks.