Boris Johnson has said he will not stand for the Conservative Party leadership. In a statement, he insisted he had secured the 100 nominations needed to get onto the ballot paper.
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.
Ruling himself out of the leadership race Mr Johnson said: "In the last few days I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who suggested that I should once again contest the Conservative Party leadership, both among the public and among friends and colleagues in Parliament.
