BREAKING: Boris Johnson says he ‘will not stand’ for Tory leadership

BORIS Johnson has said he will not run for the Tory leadership:

The former prime minister said that despite having the support of MPs needed to run, he concluded that “it would just be wrong” because “you can’t govern effectively if you don’t have of the united party”.

The announcement came hours after Johnson’s campaign team told supporters they had secured the nominations needed from lawmakers to put him on the ballot in the race for the 10th seat.

It is now looking increasingly likely that Rishi Sunak will become the next Prime Minister of the UK with a “coronation” of Tory MPs, despite the absence of a general election and a vote of Tory MPs.

Rishi Sunak officially entered the race today, promising he would lead with “integrity, professionalism and accountability” in an apparent attempt to contrast himself with his predecessors, as supporters warned Boris Johnson’s return would be a “guaranteed disaster”.

Labor hit back at the Tories and urged frustrated Tory MPs to put the interests of the British people first as he warned the “psychedrama” in their party was “no game” for people struggling to make ends meet.

Keir Starmer said: “I think there is a strong feeling now that we need a general election and that the public cannot be denied access to that while the Tories continue this circus,” he added.

“All those who are going to literally go along with this chaos, instead of allowing us to move to a stable Labor government, are putting party first, not country, and that’s the wrong way to go.

“We all have a responsibility to reduce risk, and that is with the general election.

“There is a lot of interest in this psychodrama, but for people who are struggling to pay their bills, people who have got mortgages that are now higher than they would have been, people who need the NHS, this is not a game.”

“And the more this goes on, it hurts working people, it hurts the public.”

“We need a serious, credible Labor government that will be the party of sound money, and that’s the single most likely thing to settle the market completely,” he said.