BORIS Johnson will not step aside to let a “caretaker” Prime Minister take over, his official spokesman has said.
Tory MPs unsatisfied with his resignation statement yesterday called for deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab to take over on an interim basis, fearing Johnson’s disastrous moves over the last week were damaging the party.
A leadership contest is unofficially underway to replace the Prime Minister and Raab has ruled himself out of the race.
It comes after former Prime Minister John Major wrote to the 1922 Committee - the group of Tory MPs which sets the party's internal rules - urging them to put pressure on Johnson to step aside before a successor is installed.
Johnson’s official spokesman said he would not be stepping down until a new party leader was elected.
He said: “The Prime Minister is acting in line with convention.
“He remains Prime Minister until a new party leader is in place and the work of government will continue while that takes place”.
Controversial plans such as the Rwanda deportation policy and tearing up the Northern Ireland Protocol will also continue despite the Prime Minister’s impending departure.
Both were “pre-agreed Government policy” he said, adding: “It’s not that the Government cannot continue to deal with challenging or long-standing issues. It is simply the convention to stick with delivering on pre-agreed policies, not unpicking them.”
But plans for regular press conferences on the cost-of-living crisis appear to have been scrapped.
Labour have pledged to hold a parliamentary vote to oust Johnson amid Tory calls for him to step down immediately.
