Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, set to resign

Boris Johnson is to resign on Thursday following a rebellion in his Conservative Party and is expected to address the nation in the coming hours.

“The Prime Minister will make a statement to the country today,” a Downing Street spokesman told CNN.

Johnson has become engulfed in a series of scandals that forced even his most stalwart supporters to abandon him.

More than 50 lawmakers have resigned from the government since Tuesday, furious about the botched handling of the resignation by Johnson’s former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, who was accused of groping two men last week.

Johnson initially attempted to ride out the crisis — despite an unprecedented flight of middle-ranking ministers from the government, a battering at Prime Minister’s Questions and a bruising appearance before a committee of senior lawmakers in Parliament. On Wednesday, he still insisted he wasn’t going to resign.

But Johnson appears finally to have given in on Thursday after some of his most loyal allies told him that the game was up.

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The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said it was “good news for the country” that Johnson had decided to resign, adding that “it should have happened long ago.”

“He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale,” said Starmer on Twitter.

The opposition leader also had scathing words for the Conservatives. “They have been in power for 12 years. The damage they have done is profound. Twelve years of economic stagnation. Twelve years of declining public services. Twelve years of empty promises,” Starmer said.

“Enough is enough. We don’t need to change the Tory at the top — we need a proper change of government. We need a fresh start for Britain.”

(CNN)