UK Prime Minister Ssonprdote January 19 2020 PM Boris Johnson met President Putin in the margins of the Berlin Conference on Libya.
The PM is expected to resign in a speech before lunchtime (Picture: Crown Copyright)

Russia won’t be sad to see Boris Johnson go, with a Kremlin spokesperson simply saying ‘we don’t like him’ when asked about the PM’s looming resignation.

Speaking during a media call this morning, Dmitry Peskov said: ‘He (Johnson) doesn’t like us, we don’t like him either’.

He added that reports of the end of Tory leader’s premiership were of little concern for Vladimir Putin and his government.

Mr Johnson has been slammed for his handling of allegations against Chris Pincher, which followed numerous other Tory scandals including Partygate.

But MPs who turned on him in his final hours still praised his record of offering support to Ukraine after the devastating Russian invasion.

The Tory leader is expected to read a speech in front of 10 Downing Street around lunchtime today.

The writing was on the wall for Mr Johnson after ministers Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid sparked a landslide of government resignations.

However, he is currently trying to assemble a new cabinet so he can cling on as leader until a new one is confirmed.

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The key events that led to Boris Johnson's resignation

The news that Boris Johnson is set to resign as prime minister follows a tumultuous few days in British politics.

After surviving a vote of no confidence in June, the government's handling of the Chris Pincher scandal marked the end of Mr Johnson's time in office.

Here's a run down of the key events which have led us here.

Monday, July 4

Downing Street confirmed Mr Johnson was aware of concerns about the conduct of Mr Pincher when he made him deputy chief whip. His spokesperson later conceded he had known of 'speculation' surrounding the MP, but 'no formal complaint at that time'.

Tuesday, July 5

  • Lord Simon McDonald, former permanent secretary in the Foreign Office, publishes a bombshell letter claiming Mr Johnson was briefed 'in person' about a formal complaint regarding Mr Pincher.
  • 12.30pm: Labour is granted an urgent question in Parliament to address the Pincher scandal and what the prime minister knew.
  • Tory MPs line up in the House of Commons to publicly condemn Mr Johnson's handling of the affair.
  • 1pm: Downing Street said Mr Johnson had forgotten he had been told Mr Pincher was the subject of an official complaint.
  • Tory backbenchers start publicly calling for Mr Johnson's resignation.
  • Shortly before 6pm: Mr Johnson is forced to issue an apology over his handling of the Pincher scandal.
  • At 6.02pm Sajid Javid resigns as health secretary, saying the British people 'rightly expect integrity from their government'.
  • 6.11pm: Chancellor Rishi Sunak resigns.
  • What will become a steady stream of resginations begins.
  • 9.40pm: Nadhim Zahawi is appointed chancellor, Michelle Donelan becomes education secretary and Steve Barclay is made health secretary.

Wednesday, July 6

  • 8.25am: Will Quince becomes the first minister of the day to resign while backbenchers including Lee Anderson and Robert Halfon publicly withdraw their support for Mr Johnson.
  • 12pm: Mr Johnson defies calls to resign during PMQs citing his 'colossal mandate' in 2019. He vows to keep going.
  • 2.25pm: Ministers Kemi Badenoch, Julia Lopez, Mims Davies, Lee Rowley, Neil O'Brien and Alex Burghart announced their resignations via a group letter and call on the prime minister to go.
  • 2.40pm: The Daily Mail reports that cabinet minister Michael Gove has told the prime minister he must step down.
  • 3pm: Amid unfolding chaos, the prime minister appears before the Liaison Committee to answer questions about his handling of the Pincher affair.
  • A delegation of ministers, including some of Mr Johnson's longest-standing allies meet with him to urge him to resign.
  • 8.15pm: Mr Johnson rejects calls for his resignation after meeting with ministers.
  • 9pm: Mr Johnson sacks Michael Gove as Levelling Up, Communities and Housing Secretary.
  • 10.30pm Simon Hart resigns as Welsh Secretary.
  • 11pm: Attorney General Suella Braverman says it's time for the prime minister 'to go'.

Thursday, July 7

  • The Tory party exodus continues and by 9am 27 resignations have been filed, five at cabinet level, and 22 below cabinet level.
  • Among them are Brandon Lewis the Northern Ireland secretary and Michelle Donelan, the newly appointed education secretary.
  • Nadhim Zahawi publishes a blistering open letter calling on the prime minister to resign.
  • Shortly after 9am the news breaks that Mr Johnson has agreed to resign as British prime minister.

Kit Malthouse has been appointed Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office after the prime minister.

James Cleverly has been appointed Education Secretary, while Greg Clark is Levelling Up Secretary.

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has insisted Mr Johnson must not be allowed to linger in office and must be removed immediately.

He threatened to use a Commons vote of no confidence procedure to attempt to oust him, unless he hands over the keys to Downing Street to another premier.

‘He needs to go completely. None of this nonsense about clinging on for a few months’, he said.

‘He’s inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country. We’re stuck with a government which isn’t functioning in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

‘And all of those that have been propping him up should be utterly ashamed of themselves.’

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