NEW YORK - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to resign Thursday after days of defections crippled the controversial leader and left him unable to govern.Johnson finally agreed to step down after one of his closest allies, Treasury Chief Nadhim Zahawi, told the prime minister to resign for the good of the country.
It was not immediately clear whether Johnson will stay in office while the Conservative Party chooses a new leader, who will automatically become prime minister as well.
A formal announcement is expected later Thursday."Prime Minister: this is not sustainable and it will only get worse: for you, for the Conservative Party and most importantly of all the country," Zahawi said in a letter to Johnson. "You must do the right thing and go now."Zahawi’s intervention came after two more members of Johnson’s Cabinet resigned, along with three junior officials, pushing the number of those who have left the government this week past 50.Get breaking news alerts in the free FOX5NY News app! | Sign up for FOX 5 email newslettersJohnson on Wednesday rejected calls to resign, arguing that he had a mandate from the voters to remain in office.
But by Thursday morning the man who has built a reputation for wriggling out of political controversies was forced to admit the reality of his situation.Bernard Jenkin, a senior Conservative Party lawmaker, said he met with Johnson on Wednesday and advised him to stand down."I just said to him, ‘Look, it’s just when you go now, and it’s how you go.