BORIS QUITS

BROUGHT DOWN BY HIS OWN MPS AFTER PARTYGATE AND SLEAZE. HIS BID TO STAY ON AS CARETAKER UNTIL NEW LEADER ELECTED.TRUSS FLIES BACK AS WIDE-OPEN RACE TO TAKE OVER BEGINS

- Nicholas Cecil, David Bond, Rachael Burford

BORIS JOHNSON finally agreed to resign today after a massive Tory revolt less than three years into his tumultuous premiership.

The bombshell news broke shortly after 9am. Mr Johnson was expected to seek to stay on as caretaker Prime Minister to allow the election of a new Tory leader and successor in No10 by the party's autumn conference.

However, some MPs voiced opposition to him remaining in Downing Street for any lengthy period.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng tweeted: "What a depressing state of affairs. So much needless damage caused. We now need a new leader as soon as practicable." Veteran Tory MP and former Brexit secretary David Davis said he is "not too bothered" about Mr Johnson possibly remaining as Prime Minister until later this year.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The simple truth, this is going to take a month or two."

But George Freeman, who quit as science minister this morning, said that now Mr Johnson had "finally done the decent thing" he should "hand in the seals of office, apologise to Her Majesty, allow her to appoint a caretaker under whom ministers can serve, so the Conservative Party can choose a new leader properly".

The timetable for the Tory leadership contest will be agreed between the 1922 Committee, which runs the parliamentary proceedings to whittle the candidates down to two, and Conservative headquarters.

But some MPs were wasting no time to throw their hats into the ring, with Attorney General Suella Braverman doing so while remaining in the post and urging Mr Johnson to quit, with leading Brexiteer Steve Baker saying he was also considering entering the leadership race.