Boris Johnson has dramatically pulled out of 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.
The papers were dominated by Mr Johnson’s exit from the race.
The Independent leads with “Sunak poised to be PM as Johnson forced to quit.” It also carries a comment piece stating “Boris bottles it to avoid humiliation.”
The Sun goes with “Bojo: It’s a no”. The paper reports that Mr Johnson “threw in the towel over fears he could win the Tory crown with the party membership – but be unable to form a government with angry MPs.”
An editorial in the paper warns the former prime minister that “Now is not the time, Boris.”
The Daily Mail went for the headline “Rishi set for No 10 as Boris bows out” writing that “the former prime minister insisted he had the backers to make the ballot paper and could win a vote among party members. But he said this would simply not be the right thing to do.”
The paper also carries a comment piece that says “for the good of the party and the country, Mr Johnson set his dream aside. This is a gesture of wisdom, honour and statesmanship. His time will come again.”
The Daily Telegraph, the newspaper Mr Johnson previously wrote for, cast doubt on Ms Mordaunt’s campaign hopes with the headline “Sunak set to become PM as Johnson pulls out”.
A report from its political editor says “Much depends on whether she can hoover up Mr Johnson’s backers, a task that could be tricky”.
The Times carries a similar headline crowning the former chancellor as the Conservative Party’s next leader: “Sunak set for No 10 as Johnson quits race”. The papers writes that the “Ex-PM blames lack of unity among candidates” for his exit from the race.
It reports that Mr Johnson accused Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt of “failing to come together in the national interest after they rebuffed his attempts to strike a deal.” It was reported that Mr Johnson met with both candidates over the weekend, urging them to pull out.
The Daily Mirror splashes with “Sunak set for power” and writes that the former chancellor is “on the brink of becoming Britain’s latest unelected PM.” It adds that Mr Johnson was “humiliated” by pulling out of the race at the eleventh hour.
It notes that “Only Penny Mordaunt now stands in the way of Mr Sunak.”
The Daily Express leads with “Rishi new PM in waiting after Boris quits race”. The paper says that “Rishi Sunak is set to be crowned the next Prime Minister”.
