London, 23 July 2019 (dpa/MIA) – British leader-in-waiting Boris Johnson vowed on Tuesday to “get Brexit done” after the ruling Conservatives chose him in a run-off to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May.

Johnson won about two-thirds of the votes by 160,000 Conservative party members in a contest with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, putting him one day away from becoming Britain’s new leader.

Addressing hundreds of party members – including his father, sister and brother – Johnson said he wants to unite Britain and “get Brexit done” by the delayed EU exit date of October 31, with or without a deal.

In brief remarks after the ballot result, he praised May for her “extraordinary service” and for her “passion and determination” in politics.

“We’re going to get Brexit done … in a new spirit of can-do,” Johnson said in a prepared victory speech.

“And like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self-doubt and negativity.”

Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour party, called for a general election, saying Johnson was chosen via an “unrepresentative” ballot.

“Johnson’s no-deal Brexit would mean job cuts, higher prices in the shops, and risk our NHS [national health service] being sold off to US corporations in a sweetheart deal with Donald Trump,” Corbyn tweeted.

EU officials congratulated Johnson but wasted no time in signalling the bloc won’t budge on the divorce bill it negotiated with Britain.

“We look forward to working constructively [with Johnson] when he takes office, to facilitate the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement and achieve an orderly #Brexit,” the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, wrote on Twitter.

Barnier said Brussels is, however, ready to rework the political declaration on future relations that accompanies the withdrawal agreement.

Incoming European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Johnson and also said she is looking forward to having a good working relationship with Johnson.

US President Donald Trump tweeting that Johnson “will be great!” as prime minister.

Johnson has said a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States would be an early priority for him as prime minister.

May urged him to “work together to deliver a Brexit that works for the whole UK.”

She urged him to ensure the Conservatives “keep Jeremy Corbyn out of government.”

Anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage, who leads the rising Brexit Party, asked if Johnson will “have the courage to deliver” on his “do or die” promise to leave the EU by October 31.

“It is do or die, not just for Brexit but for the future of the Conservative party,” Farage tweeted.

May resigned after she failed to persuade lawmakers to back the Brexit deal she had agreed with Brussels.

Johnson is expected to make sweeping changes to her cabinet.

Hunt, who is not expected to stay in the cabinet, said Johnson would be “a great PM for our country at this critical moment!”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and junior foreign office minister Alan Duncan have already said they will not serve in a Johnson-led government. </s> Boris Johnson will spend his first few days as leader of the Conservative Party putting together a team to run Downing Street and assembling his Cabinet to run the country. In doing so he will have to fill the gaps left behind by a number of ministers who have chosen to resign rather than acquiesce to Mr Johnson’s no-deal plans.

Know variously as Team Hammond, after Theresa May’s Chancellor, and the Gaukeward Squad, after David Gauke, the former Lord Chancellor, they plan to make life as difficult as possible for Mr Johnson if he tries to push for a no-deal Brexit.

Who are they?

The figureheads of the group are Mr Gauke, Philip Hammond, Rory Stewart, the former Development Secretary, and Greg... </s> Hardline Brexiteer Boris Johnson has won the UK’s Conservative Party leadership contest and will take over from outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May when she steps down on Wednesday.

Johnson, a former Mayor of London and British Foreign Secretary, was officially named the new Tory leader on Tuesday, beating his rival Jeremy Hunt in a ballot of party members.

The leadership vote was triggered after an embattled May was forced into resigning after losing the support of her cabinet, many of whom were fed up with her inability to secure the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU).

As prime minister, Johnson, 55, will inherit the same problems of a deeply divided Parliament — and nation — when he assumes the role.

Throughout his leadership campaign, Johnson was vocal about his willingness to exit the EU without a deal, pledging to leave “do or die” on October 31, the latest deadline for the UK to depart the bloc.

He said that he’d be willing to force Brexit through on that date by suspending Parliament, if he’s unable to negotiate a new exit deal with EU officials.

The EU has said there is no chance of reopening the Withdrawal Agreement, the deal that May made with the bloc in 2018 but which has failed to satisfy both the Europhile and Euroskeptic wings of both the Tory party and Parliament.

While Johnson’s stance on Brexit have defined his leadership bid, his incendiary remarks on religion and race have sparked criticism about his character.

Writing in his weekly column in the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph last August, he likened Muslim women wearing veils to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers.”

Earlier this month, he faced new accusations of Islamophobia after claiming in a newly-unearthed 2007 text that Islam left Muslim countries “centuries behind” the Western world.

Previously, Johnson called people from the British Commonwealth “flag-waving piccaninnies,” referred to the “watermelon smiles” of people from the Congo, and suggested that former US President Barack Obama held an “ancestral dislike of the British Empire” because he was “part-Kenyan.”

And, as foreign secretary, erroneous comments he made about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe — a British-Iranian charity worker who was arrested on spying charges in Iran more than three years ago and remains detained — could have damaged her case.

During the 2016 campaign for Britain to leave the EU, Johnson was accused of lying to the public by stating that the country’s membership of the bloc cost £350 million ($442 million) a week.

That controversial claim was plastered on the side of a bus that toured the UK prior to the vote that resulted in a 52-48% result in favor of Brexit.

Johnson’s hardline stance led to Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan resigning on Monday — and it is expected to trigger several more resignations in the coming days.

“It is tragic that just when we could have been the dominant intellectual and political force throughout Europe, and beyond, we have had to spend every day working beneath the dark cloud of Brexit,” Duncan said in his resignation letter.

Rory Stewart, the UK International Development Secretary who made a high-profile but unsuccessful bid to lead the Conservative Party, also reiterated on Monday that he would resign rather than serve under Johnson’s leadership.

And last week, both the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke confirmed they will step down before Johnson becomes prime minister. </s> Boris Johnson has given key cabinet roles to leading Brexiteers after becoming the UK’s new prime minister.

Dominic Raab and Priti Patel return to government as foreign secretary and home secretary respectively.

Sajid Javid has been named as the new chancellor as more than half of Theresa May’s old cabinet, including leadership rival Jeremy Hunt, quit or were sacked.

Earlier, Mr Johnson said the Brexit “doomsters and gloomsters” were wrong and the UK would leave on 31 October.

Speaking outside No 10, he said the UK would meet that deadline “no ifs, no buts”, adding: “The buck stops with me.”

Mr Johnson then turned his attention to a radical overhaul of the government, with 17 of Mrs May’s former senior ministers being axed or stepping down.

Announcing his departure, Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt said he had been offered an alternative role but had turned it down.

Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, a leading Brexiteer who is popular across the party, was the most surprising departure. She has been replaced by Ben Wallace, a former soldier and longstanding ally of Mr Johnson’s.

Another prominent Brexiteer, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, was also ousted, along with Business Secretary Greg Clark – a vocal opponent of a no-deal Brexit.

All three supported Mr Hunt in the Tory leadership contest.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley, Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes, Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright and Communities Secretary James Brokenshire have also gone, along with Chris Grayling, whose record as Transport Secretary was much criticised.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who has left his position after four years, joked whether there would be “room” on the backbenches after all the dismissals.

This comes on top of the earlier resignations of four leading ministers, including Chancellor Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke and Cabinet Office minister David Lidington.

Conservative MP Nigel Evans described the changes as a “summer’s day massacre”. (Excerpted from BBC) </s> Conservative lawmaker Dominic Raab arrives at 10 Downing Street, London, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. Boris Johnson has replaced Theresa May as Prime Minister, following her resignation last month after Parliament repeatedly rejected the Brexit withdrawal agreement she struck with the European Union. Johnson seems to be clearing out top ministers, firing several members of former leader Theresa May’s Cabinet. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

LONDON (AP) — The latest on Boris Johnson officially becoming Britain’s new prime minister (all times local):

Australia’s prime minister has congratulated Boris Johnson and hopes to ink one of Britain’s first bilateral trade deals after Brexit.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday he and Johnson are both looking forward to meeting at the Group of 7 summit in France next month and to “moving very quickly, when the opportunity presents” to reach a trade deal.

Morrison told reporters that “this is a time of change for the United Kingdom” and Johnson “will bring a new opportunity … to resolve what had been some very difficult issues.”

Morrison says it is in the interests of the “broader global economy” that Britain and Europe resolve outstanding Brexit issues.

Dominic Raab has been named Britain’s foreign secretary, the country’s top diplomat and one of the most senior roles in government.

Raab was appointed as new Prime Minister Boris Johnson assembles a Cabinet he hopes can help him deliver Brexit. Raab is a former Brexit secretary and a staunch supporter of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay is keeping his job in the government shakeup.

Michael Gove, who ran the 2016 campaign to leave the EU alongside Johnson before the pair fell out, was named Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a powerful Cabinet post with no specific portfolio.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Sajid Javid the country’s new Treasury chief, one of the most senior jobs in Cabinet.

Javid will be responsible for spending and economic policy in Johnson’s government.

Javid, a former banker and ex-home secretary, is the first ethnic minority politician to hold the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Johnson is forming his Cabinet after taking office on Wednesday. He has cleared out many of the ministers who served under predecessor Theresa May. More than half have either quit or been fired.

Jeremy Hunt says he’s leaving the job of foreign secretary as new Prime Minister Boris Johnson sweeps into office with a fresh team at the top.

Hunt’s position had been closely watched. He had challenged Johnson for the job of Conservative leader, and says he wanted to stay on as foreign secretary. But Hunt says Johnson offered another role.

Hunt tweeted that “after 9 yrs in Cabinet & over 300 cab mtgs now is the time to return 2 backbenches from where PM will have my full support.”

Former Prime Minister Theresa May’s secretaries in defense, business, education, transport, local government and international trade have all announced they are leaving the government. Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and May’s de-facto deputy, David Lidington, resigned.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson seems to be clearing out top ministers, firing several members of former leader Theresa May’s Cabinet.

So far, May’s secretaries in defense, business, education, transport, local government and international trade have all announced they are leaving government. That comes hours after Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Justice Secretary David Gauke, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and May’s de-facto deputy, David Lidington, resigned.

Some of those leaving had said they would rather go than serve under Johnson, who wants to leave the European Union even if no Brexit agreement is in place to ease the transition. Johnson insists the country will leave the EU by Oct. 31 — “do or die.”

However many British lawmakers, including some in Johnson’s Conservative party, worry that the shock of severing decades of frictionless trade would devastate the country’s economy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she wishes new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson much luck and success and is looking forward to “good cooperation and further deepening of our bilateral relations.”

Merkel said in a statement Wednesday that the relationship of Germany and Britain is “shaped by deep friendship and close partnership.”

She wrote “we’re connected by personal relations of people, economic ties between companies, our united engagement for a rule-based international order as well as our common European heritage.”

Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed the U.K. will leave the European Union on Oct. 31 — “no ifs, ands or buts.”

Speaking just moments after Queen Elizabeth II asked him to form a government Wednesday, Johnson sought to persuade the public to back him — saying that the time has come to act on the nation’s departure from the European Union.

In his first speech as leader outside 10 Downing Street, Johnson says “he will get ‘a new deal, a better deal’ from the EU on Brexit.

He added that while there will be difficulties, much of the nation’s confidence has been sapped by the refusal to take action.

Johnson left Buckingham Palace after being appointed by Queen Elizabeth II. The palace confirmed that Johnson had been appointed “as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury,” another of the British leader’s titles.

He visited the palace to meet with the monarch Wednesday after predecessor Theresa May resigned, failing to secure parliamentary approval for her deal to leave the European Union.

Johnson is going to 10 Downing St. to start work on forming his new administration.

Greenpeace climate protesters have interrupted the motorcade of Boris Johnson as he was traveling to Buckingham Palace to meet with Queen Elizabeth II to get the nod to form a government.

Demonstrators in red shirts and sashes formed a human chain on The Mall, a road leading to the palace, prompting a police officer on a motorcycle to stop just in front of them. Other demonstrators unfurled a banner reading “Climate Emergency.”

The chain was broken when another officer came up from behind and pushed the demonstrators to the side of the road.

Greenpeace said in a statement that U.K. Executive Director John Sauven attempted to hand Johnson Greenpeace’s 134 point Climate Emergency manifesto, which detailed “the wide-ranging policies the new administration must implement to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown.”

Buckingham Palace says that Theresa May has tendered her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, clearing the way for Boris Johnson to become the new prime minister of the United Kingdom.

The monarch accepted, setting in train the handover of power.

Johnson arrived at the palace a short time later on Wednesday, having been briefly interrupted by climate protesters who formed a human chain attempting to stop his motorcade.

Theresa May has left 10 Downing St. for the final time as prime minister and is heading for Buckingham Palace to resign.

In a formal handover of power, May will ask Queen Elizabeth II to invite her successor Boris Johnson to form a government. Johnson will then visit the palace, and leave as Britain’s new prime minister.

May is stepping down after failing to secure lawmakers’ support for a Brexit deal and lead Britain out of the European Union.

In a final speech outside 10 Downing St. with husband Philip by her side, May said it had been “the greatest honor” to serve as Britain’s prime minister.

And she said “I hope that every young girl who has seen a woman prime minister now knows for sure there are no limits to what they can achieve.”

Senior members of Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, including her Treasury chief Philip Hammond, are resigning just hours before Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson succeeds her.

The departures clear the way for Johnson to appoint a raft of fresh faces to his government.

Justice Secretary David Gauke and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart have also resigned.

The three had previously announced they would rather leave rather than serve Johnson, who wants to leave the European Union even if no agreement is in place to ease the transition to a new relationship between Britain and the bloc. He insists that the country will leave the EU by Oct. 31 — “do or die.”

Many lawmakers worry the shock of severing decades of frictionless trade would devastate the country’s economy.

David Lidington, effectively May’s deputy prime minister, also resigned, saying it was “the right moment.” to go. He had not previously pre-announced his departure.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official says no immediate changes in relations with Britain are expected upon Boris Johnson becoming Britain’s new prime minister.

Andrei Kelin, head of the ministry’s European cooperation department, said Wednesday that “I don’t think that something will change in the near future, because Boris Johnson belongs to the team that has spoiled these relations for quite a long time.”

Moscow-London relations have plummeted since the nerve agent poisoning of a Russian former double agent and his daughter in the town of Salisbury last year. Britain blames the poisoning on Russian military intelligence.

Prime Minister Theresa May says she’s glad her successor, Boris Johnson, is committed to “delivering on the vote of the people in 2016” to leave the European Union.

May offered muted praise of the incoming leader in her last Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons. She said she was pleased to be handing power to another Conservative leader.

After Wednesday’s question period, May will travel to Buckingham Palace and submit her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II. Johnson, who won a contest to replace her as Conservative leader, will become prime minister later in the day.

May said she would “continue my duties in this House from the back benches” as an ordinary lawmaker.

May shook her head at a suggestion from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn that she join opposition attempts to stop the “reckless” Johnson, who has vowed to take Britain out of the EU with or without a divorce deal.

The European Parliament is warning new Boris Johnson, who in a few hours is set to become British prime minister, not to count on any renegotiation of the Brexit deal that his predecessor Theresa May negotiated with the EU.

The legislature’s Brexit steering group said in a statement that the statements made by Johnson during his campaign to lead the Conservative Party “have greatly increased the risk of a disorderly exit of the UK.”

It adds that a no-deal exit would be “economically very damaging, even if such damage would not be inflicted equally on both parties.”

The group, including the top Brexit legislators, held talks in a conference call the day after Johnson won the race to succeed May, who is due to quit as prime minister in the next couple of hours.

Johnson has said he would take the UK out of the EU on the Brexit departure date of Oct. 31 “come what may.”

Incoming British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is assembling his top team, with a key job set to go to a controversial figure from the country’s Brexit referendum campaign.

Johnson’s allies say Dominic Cummings, director of the “Vote Leave” campaign in the 2016 referendum, will become a senior adviser to the prime minister.

Cummings has been both praised and criticized for his work as the campaign’s lead strategist. Lawmakers and electoral officials have investigated Vote Leave’s links to the firm Cambridge Analytica, which harvested Facebook users’ data to help political campaigns.

Cummings — who was played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the TV drama “Brexit: The Uncivil War” — was found to be in contempt of Parliament earlier this year for refusing to give evidence to a committee of lawmakers investigating “fake news.”

Boris Johnson is set to form a “cabinet for modern Britain” as he prepares to become prime minister following his victory in an election to lead the governing Conservatives.

The incoming leader has just over three months to make good on his promise to lead the U.K. out of the European Union by Oct. 31.

Johnson easily defeated Conservative rival Jeremy Hunt, winning two-thirds of the votes of about 160,000 party members across the U.K. He becomes prime minister once Queen Elizabeth II formally asks him to form a government.

He will replace Theresa May, who announced her resignation last month after Parliament repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement she struck with the 28-nation bloc.

For more on AP’s Brexit coverage, https://www.apnews.com/Brexit </s> Boris Johnson will become Britain’s next prime minister after being elected leader of the Conservative party, defeating Jeremy Hunt in the party’s leadership contest.

The former mayor of London, who has long cherished an ambition to lead his country, won the contest by 92,153 votes to 46,656, with 66% of the vote. Turnout was 87.4% among 159,320 party members.

Johnson will not take office formally until Wednesday afternoon. Theresa May will face her final prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons before tendering her resignation to the Queen.

Johnson will then go to Buckingham Palace himself for his appointment to be confirmed – before being driven to Downing Street to give a speech in front of the black door of No 10.

He takes charge at a perilous political moment. The Conservatives’ wafer-thin parliamentary working majority is expected to be eroded further next week – to just two – if the Liberal Democrats win the Brecon and Radnorshire byelection.

Johnson has faced a furious internal revolt even before arriving in Downing Street, with several key cabinet ministers, including the chancellor, Philip Hammond, saying they will resign rather than serve under him.

They have been alarmed by Johnson’s insistence that he is willing to countenance leaving the European Union without a deal on 31 October, rather than postpone Brexit once again – even if that meant proroguing parliament.

And despite painstaking media management, his campaign has been dogged by a series of controversies, including the revelation that police had been called to a noisy argument at the home he shared with his partner, Carrie Symonds.

He was also blamed by some colleagues, including the Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan, for the resignation of the ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch, after confidential diplomatic cables about Donald Trump were leaked.

Duncan – who resigned on Tuesday rather than serve under Johnson – said the former foreign secretary had thrown Darroch “under a bus”.

However, Johnson had been the runaway favourite to become leader after securing support from both wings of the bitterly divided Tory party, from the health secretary, Matt Hancock, to the chair of the European Research Group, Jacob Rees-Mogg.

He is regarded by colleagues as an impressive political campaigner, and the man with the best chance of seeing off the formidable electoral challenge from Nigel Farage’s Brexit party, which beat the Tories soundly in May’s European elections.

May will leave Downing Street on Wednesday after three years, after a premiership overwhelmingly defined by the failure of her government to implement Brexit.

Johnson is likely to embark on fresh negotiations with EU leaders and key Brussels decision-makers as soon as possible, with a view to securing changes to May’s deal in time for the Halloween deadline.

But with no secure majority, and Labour determined to demand a referendum on any deal he brings back from Brussels, many MPs believe he could be forced to call a general election within months in order to win a mandate for his plan. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn pay tribute to Sir Kim Darroch's service

Sir Kim Darroch has resigned as UK ambassador to the US, as a row over leaked emails critical of President Trump's administration escalates.

Theresa May said Sir Kim's departure was "a matter of deep regret" after the ambassador said it was "impossible" for him to continue.

Tory leadership candidate Boris Johnson has faced strong criticism for failing to fully support him.

President Trump said on Monday that the US would not deal with Sir Kim.

The US president had branded him "a very stupid guy" after confidential emails emerged where the ambassador had called his administration "clumsy and inept".

In a letter to the Foreign Office, Sir Kim said he wanted to end speculation about his position: "The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like."

His resignation has prompted widespread support for Sir Kim as well as criticism of Tory frontrunner Boris Johnson.

According to some Whitehall sources, Sir Kim decided to resign after Mr Johnson refused to support him during the Tory leadership debate on Tuesday night, said BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale.

Mr Johnson was asked repeatedly by fellow leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt whether he would keep Sir Kim in post if he became prime minister, but refused to answer.

It is understood Mr Johnson spoke to Sir Kim on the phone on Wednesday afternoon.

Sources close to Mr Johnson said that he praised Sir Kim's dedication and hard work and claimed the conversation was warm and cordial.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mr Johnson and Mr Hunt clashed over future of UK's top diplomat in the US

Following Sir Kim's resignation, Mr Johnson said he was "a superb diplomat" and whoever was responsible for the leak "has done a grave disservice to our civil servants".

Asked why he was not more supportive of Sir Kim, he said it was "wrong to drag civil servants into the political arena".

Europe Minister Sir Alan Duncan - who backs Mr Hunt in the leadership contest - said it was "contemptible negligence" of Mr Johnson not to support Sir Kim.

"He's basically thrown this fantastic diplomat under a bus to serve his own personal interests," he said.

However, Sir Michael Fallon - a supporter of Mr Johnson - told BBC Newsnight Sir Kim's position became untenable "long before the debate on Tuesday night" and he understands the ambassador did not watch it.

The backlash against Mr Johnson was "a shabby attempt to politicise" the affair and the leadership contender had "made it clear he supports all our diplomats", he said.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sir Alan Duncan says Boris Johnson has "thrown our top diplomat under a bus"

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Johnson wanted a "sweetheart trade deal" with the US and his lack of support for Sir Kim "shows he won't stand up to Donald Trump".

Tory MP and chairman of the Commons' foreign affairs committee Tom Tugendhat said in a tweet: "Leaders stand up for their men. They encourage them to try and defend them when they fail."

Fellow Tory leadership candidate and Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt told the BBC Sir Kim was "doing his job" and his resignation was "a black day for British diplomacy".

Mrs May said Sir Kim had had the full backing of the cabinet and he was owed an "enormous debt of gratitude" for his "lifetime of service" to the UK.

Public servants should be able to give "full and frank advice", she added.

Analysis

by James Landale, BBC diplomatic correspondent

So was it Boris Johnson what done it? Was the failure of the former foreign secretary to defend Sir Kim in last night's Tory leadership debate the crucial factor in the ambassador's decision to resign?

Without Sir Kim speaking publicly on the subject, we are reliant on others to speak for him.

And certainly, according to well-placed sources in Whitehall, Mr Johnson's decision to avoid criticising President Trump and his lack of support for Sir Kim was said to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

If you are an embattled diplomat under fire from your host country, you need cover from London. And if that is lacking from the man tipped to be your next boss, you realise the writing is on the wall.

Certainly, there is genuine anger across Westminster and Whitehall at Mr Johnson's refusal six times last night to come to the aid of our man in Washington.

Mr Johnson's supporters have offered varying counter theories. Some have accused Mr Hunt's supporters of politicising the resignation.

Others have insisted that the decision had been made before the debate, once Mr Trump declared he would no longer deal with Sir Kim.

Realising they were on the receiving end of potentially damaging criticism, Mr Johnson's aides also let it be known that he called Sir Kim this afternoon and praised his dedication and hard work.

The problem is that few in Westminster were giving much credence to these defences.

In the House of Commons, Theresa May pointedly urged MPs to "reflect on the importance of defending our values and principles, particularly when they are under pressure".

It was not hard to decipher what she was talking about.

Head of the diplomatic service Sir Simon McDonald said it was the first time in his career that a head of state had refused to work with a British ambassador.

He described the leak as "malicious" and told Sir Kim: "You are the best of us."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham - a supporter of President Trump - said Sir Kim had done "an outstanding job" as ambassador and his resignation was "a chilling moment".

"Ambassadors need to be able to talk to their governments without fear of being compromised," he said.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Johnson pictured with Sir Kim in 2017 while he was in Washington DC as foreign secretary

In a letter to Sir Kim, Cabinet Secretary and civil service head Sir Mark Sedwill said that while he understood his reasons for resigning it was "a matter of enormous regret that you were put in this position after a shocking betrayal of trust".

Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said he was "enraged" by the situation and morale in the senior ranks of the civil service had taken "a very heavy blow".

Former head of the civil service Lord O'Donnell told the BBC Sir Kim's successor could be chosen within two weeks - while Mrs May is still prime minister.

President Trump could well wake up this morning thinking he has the power to veto who the UK has as its ambassador.

It wasn't his more colourful remarks on Twitter that really ended Sir Kim's time, but Mr Trump's public announcement that he would no longer work with him.

The effects of that were felt immediately. There was a banquet that Sir Kim was immediately dis-invited from. Next, he couldn't attend an event with minister Liam Fox.

It was clear he was being frozen out and for an ambassador access is everything. Without it, it's impossible to do the job.

More broadly, it's like this... There's never been parity in the special relationship between the UK and US - it's never been a relationship of equals but right now it seems particularly lopsided.

The US knows that Britain is fairly isolated right now internationally and needs the US more than ever. Donald Trump has wielded that power mercilessly in this row.

In the emails leaked to the Mail on Sunday, Sir Kim said: "We don't really believe this administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction-riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept."

The emails, dating from 2017, said rumours of "infighting and chaos" in the White House were mostly true.

The government has opened an internal inquiry into the publication of the memos and police have been urged to open a criminal investigation.

Downing Street confirmed there had been some "initial discussions" with police regarding the leak and if there was concern about criminal activity they would become involved "more formally".

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said it was "deeply worrying" diplomatic cables had ended up in the public domain. </s> Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has suffered a humiliating rebuff in front of Theresa May's cabinet over a leaked report that suggested he would demand a post-Brexit dividend of £100m a week for the NHS.

The BBC reported that Johnson was hoping to use the cabinet meeting to kick off a debate about healthcare spending in the midst of winter pressures on the NHS. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt had been due to give an update to cabinet members.

Johnson's bid to secure extra funding was supposedly driven by a fear that May was ready to abandon the NHS as an electoral cause, allowing Jeremy Corbyn to make it a key campaign point for Labour.

Following the cabinet meeting, May's official spokesman told the Guardian: "The prime minister and a large number of cabinet ministers made the point that cabinet discussions should take place in private.

"Regarding the future and how any return of EU contribution would be spent, the prime minister reminded cabinet that the government has consistently said we will spend money on our priorities such as housing, schools and the NHS."

The Telegraph reported that Hunt, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt were expected to back Johnson's plan.

He has long been considered a potential future Conservative leader and was widely considered a frontrunner for the job when David Cameron resigned after the EU referendum. In what has been a tumultuous 18 months for the prime minister, Johnson has been one of the leading options for alternative leadership, though he has not been without his own controversies.

Backbench Conservative MP Anna Soubry took to Twitter before the cabinet met to suggest that May should sack Johnson for longstanding incompetence and disloyalty. Soubry warned that if May did not act Johnson could "bring her down".

Chancellor Philip Hammond was the first to respond to the reports as he arrived at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels.

"Mr Johnson is the foreign secretary," he said in a sly putdown. He noted that an extra £6bn had already been allocated to the NHS in the November budget.

Johnson was a key figure in the Vote Leave organisation campaigning to leave the EU in the runup to the 2016 referendum. Vote Leave claimed the UK was sending £350m to the EU every week, and that a leave vote would allow this money to be given to the NHS.

Their discredited claim was famously seen on the side of the Brexit Bus, with Johnson alongside. </s> A secret vote among Tory lawmakers on Tuesday saw former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab drop out of the race for party leader and gaffe-prone Boris Johnson extend his lead over the remaining four rivals.

Johnson, who served as London mayor and foreign secretary in Theresa May's government, won 126 out 313 votes on Tuesday. This was 12 more votes than in the first poll held last Thursday.

The Tory lawmakers were set to hold several more votes to trim the candidate list down to two names. Some 160,000 members of the UK Conservative party will then decide on the next party leader, who is virtually guaranteed to become next prime minister.

Johnson has a strong public profile based on his career as a political columnist and his leading role in the 2016 campaign to leave the European Union. He also has deep ties inside the Tory party establishment as a son of a Conservative party politician and alumni of Eton and Oxford. Johnson attended the two elite schools together with former prime minister David Cameron.

Johnson's flamboyant personality has helped him shrug off multiple scandals during his time in the public eye, including lying about an extramarital affair, flippant descriptions of Africans, gays, and Muslim women, and jokes about "dead bodies" in Libya.

The 54-year-old politician said he was ready to take the UK out of the EU by October 31 deadline, whether or not a deal was in place. He also threatened to withhold €44 billion ($50 billion) in divorce payments that the UK owes the EU.

The latest score puts Johnson far ahead his closest rival, Jeremy Hunt. Hunt, who succeeded Johnson as foreign secretary and picked up 46 of Tory lawmakers' votes on Tuesday. He is followed by Environment Minister Michael Gove with 41, Internal Development Minister Rory Stewart with 37, and Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who only managed to meet the 33-vote threshold allowing him to continue the race.

Raab was eliminated after scoring only 30 votes.

Moderate Rory Stewart, who was dubbed as an outsider in the race, boosted his score by 18 votes compared to his last week's score. Stewart is the only candidate who is openly in favor of trying to save the divorce deal negotiated by the current prime minister Theresa May.

On Tuesday, he accused Johnson of peddling "fairy tales" about solving the Brexit issue.

A new prime minister should be voted in by the end of July.

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Multiple cabinet members resign on the day of Johnson's ascension to premiership, or in the days preceding it, in response to Johnson's politics and views on Brexit, including Philip Hammond, Jeremy Hunt, David Gauke, Sir Alan Duncan, Rory Stewart, Anne Milton, and David Lidington.