Michael Gove

Boris Johnson to quit as prime minister after telling chair of 1922 Committee he will resign

Boris Johnson spoke to Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, and agreed to stand down, No 10 sources are saying. The decision was reportedly taken at about 8.30am.

Britain on May 10 was set to announce a further easing of its coronavirus lockdown, joining several European nations in gradually reopening their economies, but India remained in the grip of a devastating outbreak.

Thousands of EU citizens who left the UK temporarily because of the coronavirus pandemic are set to lose their long-term right to stay in Britain under Home Office rules.

The government has granted settled status to 4.3 million European Union citizens since it voted to leave the EU.

Britain on Monday urged businesses to prepare for Brexit, just days before a transition period designed to smooth the UK's departure from the European Union comes to an end.

Britain and the EU clinched a trade deal on Thursday - one which preserves zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc's single market but which will still cause disruption.

The UK and EU have reached agreement on how rules in the Brexit divorce deal relating to Northern Ireland's borders will work in practice.

 This is a Brexit breakthrough.

 The two sides have reached an "agreement in principle" on issues including border control posts and the supply of medicines.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fighting worsening coronavirus symptoms in an intensive care unit on April 7, leaving his foreign minister to lead the government's response to the accelerating outbreak.

UK Minister Michael Gove has accused China of concealing real data regarding the spread of coronavirus, Sputnik reports.
"The first case of the virus was registered in China in December last year, but reports from China were incomplete even then, with no clear indication of the origin and how contagious it was", Gove said.

Andrea Leadsom, Julian Smith, Geoffrey Cox and Theresa Villiers have all been sacked from the cabinet in what is likely to be a relatively modest reshuffle by Boris Johnson, The Guardian reported.

The housing minister and the universities minister were also dismissed.

He specified that if this is not the case, UK will exit EU without an agreement, Johnson's spokesperson stated.
"Prime Minister is willing to sit down and negotiate, as soon as their position changes", his spokesperson said, Reuters reports.

Ten candidates will compete for Theresa May's place as leader of the British Conservative Party.