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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow, Nadeem Badshah and Kevin Rawlinson

Trump claims Boris Johnson popular in UK because he's seen as 'Britain's Trump' - as it happened

Closing summary

That’s all from us for this evening. Here’s a summary of the day’s developments:

  • Boris Johnson will be the UK’s next prime minister after being elected to lead the Conservative party by its membership. Johnson beat his rival, Jeremy Hunt, by 92,153 votes to 46,656.
  • In his victory speech, Johnson stressed his desire for a partnership with the EU. On the campaign trail, he had vowed to leave the bloc – “do or die” – on 31 October. He also attempted to set out a more mainstream, one nation conservative vision for the party.
  • Senior political figures congratulated Johnson on his victory but he was also warned that difficulties lay ahead in his dealings with the EU. The outgoing prime minister, Theresa May, vowed to back him from the back benches but, while EU leaders were careful to be welcoming in their tone, they made clear their longstanding rejection of his Brexit plans remained. The US president, Donald Trump, also congratulated Johnson and claimed the latter’s popularity was linked to his own.
  • Johnson’s domestic rivals were explicit in their disapproval. Labour asked: “How did our country sink so low?”, though its leader would not say when he would table a motion of no confidence. Jo Swinson, the new Liberal Democrat leader, said Johnson was unfit to be prime minister. The SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, said the “vast majority” of Scottish people would be concerned by his election and Plaid Cymru called it a “gift” to the Welsh independence movement.
  • The incoming prime minister was hit by another ministerial resignation. Anne Milton stepped down as skills minister, saying she had “grave concerns” about his Brexit stance.
  • But he was given a rapturous welcome by backbench Tory MPs when he addressed them later on Tuesday afternoon. Conservative MPs put on a show for reporters outside the meeting of the 1922 Committee, banging on desks and walls to acclaim their new leader.

If you’d like to read yet more, my colleagues Heather Stewart and Jessica Elgot have the full story:

Updated

Speaking to the LBC radio station, Andrea Leadsom has made it clear she’s angling for a Treasury position, citing her long career experience as evidence of her suitability.

There have, of course, been serious questions about the exact nature of that experience.

A former ambassador to Denmark and Foreign and Commonwealth Office official is being tipped to be named as Boris Johnson’s new Brexit negotiator, replacing Olly Robbins.

David Frost is a career diplomat who was head of Europe at the Foreign Office and served as a special adviser to Boris Johnson during the incoming prime minister’s time there.

He is currently the chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and has years of experience working with the EU.

Those who know him say he supports Brexit, ticking a key box for the incoming prime minister. “He believes there is a deal to be done and will pursue that,” one source has said.

However, there are also concerns that, if his appointment is confirmed, the key “sherpa” role is going to someone who is not a full-time member of the civil service. One source has said:

David is good, he knows Europe inside out. But Johnson will need someone at a senior level in the civil service who will be in charge of the day to day work.

There has also been speculation Johnson will appoint a Brexiter MP to oversee negotiations in order to satisfy the Eurosceptic MPs who criticised the secrecy of May’s negotiations and the “tunnel” in which Robbins, her Brexit negotiator operated in the latter stages.

Updated

The Campaign Against Antisemitism is giving Corbyn’s antisemitism plans short shrift. Its chief executive, Gideon Falter, has said:

Years too late, Jeremy Corbyn has finally agreed that those who hate Jews should be expelled from the Labour party quickly. What has been lacking all of this time is willpower, not procedures.

When the Labour party wants to expel a member, they already have the procedures they need: we have seen lightning-fast action, even against senior party figures, such as Alastair Campbell and Hilary Armstrong, just not for antisemitism.

We have no confidence whatsoever in these proposed procedures since it has been so clearly proven that Jeremy Corbyn’s allies and staff have systematically perverted the course of disciplinary processes in order to protect antisemites.

Previous rule changes similar to this proved entirely cosmetic because the Labour party is institutionally antisemitic and its internal disciplinary process has been corrupted.

Sinn Féin will work to protect the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, including the commitment to calling a referendum on Irish Unity, the party’s deputy leader Michelle O’Neill has said.

The British government has responsibilities and commitments under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and we will hold them to account.

We will continue to stand up for Irish interests, for the majority of citizens in the North who voted on a cross-community basis to remain within the EU.

We will continue to work with the Dublin government and the EU27 to protect Ireland from the catastrophic impact of the reckless Brexit being pursued by Boris Johnson and the hard Brexiteers.

Labour’s ruling body has accepted Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for dealing with antisemitism complaints. The national executive committee (NEC) agreed to endorse the proposal to allow fast-track expulsions in the most serious cases, a party spokesman has said.

It is understood the agreement came after the withdrawal of a motion calling for a fully independent process for dealing with such cases – an idea backed by the Labour MP Ruth Smeeth among others.

There had been criticism of Corbyn’s plan because of the proposed involvement of the party’s general secretary, Jennie Formby, who has been accused of interfering in antisemitism complaints.

The spokesman said the proposal would be further developed to enable the NEC to finalise a “fair and legally robust” rule change that could be put to the party’s annual conference in September.

The vast majority of Labour members are motivated by equality, justice and fairness, and despise antisemitism.

The party is taking decisive and robust action against antisemitism and the rate at which antisemitism cases are dealt with has increased more than four-fold since Jennie Formby became general secretary.

Under the proposed changes, the most serious allegations will be referred to a special panel, including Formby and NEC officers.

Updated

The Financial Times has reported this evening that Johnson has hired the Sky executive, Andrew Griffith, to be his chief business adviser in Downing Street. This comes after Griffith loaned Johnson his £9.5m Westminster townhouse from which to run his campaign.

Reacting to the news, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, Jon Trickett, has said:

Before he is even appointed prime minister, one of Boris Johnson’s first acts is to dish out a powerful job in No 10 to his super-rich pal who lent him his luxurious house in Westminster for the Tory leadership campaign.

The public would be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that Johnson’s friends can buy influence within the new administration.

It’s blindingly obvious – Boris Johnson and his government will act only in the interest of the wealthy elite.

Updated

The Democratic Unionist party MP, Sammy Wilson, has claimed the “problem along the [Irish] border is an illusionary one”, despite both UK government and EU officials having made clear they believe it to be very real indeed.

Asked how he felt Boris Johnson would sort the Irish border issue and whether people were needlessly worried, Wilson said:

I think that the Irish border is sorted anyhow, because the problem along the border is an illusionary one ... I think they are worried for no reason.

If you look at the Irish border at present, we have to collect taxes across the Irish border every day.

And we do that unobtrusively. We have to ensure animal welfare standards are met and animals have to be checked. We do that away from the border.

Wilson said illegal trade was stopped by intelligence-led checks and stopping vehicles along country roads.

The mechanism for dealing with all of the things that need to be dealt with unobtrusively is already there.

Updated

Here is some more international reaction to Boris Johnson’s election.

From the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau

From the former Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen

From the Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg

That’s all from me for today.

My colleague Kevin Rawlinson is now taking over.

This is from the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg, on how Russian TV is covering this story.

Boris Johnson leaves Conservative party HQ earlier.
Boris Johnson leaves Conservative party HQ earlier. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Following her muted congratulations statement earlier, the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has told BBC Scotland that she will judge Boris Johnson on his actions in office, pointing out that he was not her first choice and that she did not vote for him. She added that he would have to “make a pretty good fist of it pretty early” because of the challenges he faces. During the interview in Newcastle this afternoon, Davidson reportedly missed a call from Johnson, which she returned.

Trump claims Boris Johnson will work well with Nigel Farage

As my colleague Joan E Greve writes on US Politics Live, my Washington equivalent, in his speech to Turning Point USA President Trump also said that Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, who was in the audience, would work well with Boris Johnson. This is from the Wall Street Journal’s Vivian Salama.

This is not what Boris Johnson has been saying in the campaign, where he has ruled out electoral pacts with Farage, or giving him a role in the Brexit talks.

The Telegraph’s Ben Riley-Smith has the full quote from Donald Trump.

Updated

Trump claims Johnson popular in UK because he's seen as 'Britain's Trump'

This is from CBS’s Mark Knoller.

President Trump has got this half right. Boris Johnson is often compared to Trump. But that is because they both have blond hair and say lots of things that are untrue. Outside Tory/Brexit/Telegraph circles, the comparison is not generally viewed as a compliment.

Updated

'Think Margaret Thatcher with wild hair' - Newt Gingrich praises Boris Johnson

This is from Newt Gingrich, the US Republican who was Speaker of the House of Representatives in the late 1990s. Gingrich specialised in hardline, adversarial tactics (his refusal to pass budgets led to several government shutdowns) and he is seen as someone who in some respects paved the way for the politics of Donald Trump.

This is probably not the endorsement Boris Johnson wants if he is keen to be seen as a one nation Tory.

On a good day to slip out written ministerial statements: the transport secretary, Chris Grayling, has revealed that the cost of the troubled Crossrail programme has risen again.

Works on track and stations on the overground section to the west of London, carried out by Network Rail, have run another £210m over budget since an update in 2018, bringing the total cost to date to more than £17.8bn.

Grayling said the cost would be met from internal Network Rail budgets – although it remains in effect taxpayers’ money as it is a state-owned body.

News of the confirmed cost overruns in Network Rail’s relatively small portion of Crossrail work – now more than 20% over its own allotted £2.3bn Crossrail budget – will fuel fears aired by the public accounts committee that the delayed rail line could end up costing substantially more yet. Network Rail said the additional time taken to deliver the project was to blame.

Updated

In an interview with the BBC, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that he expected Boris Johnson to make a statement to MPs on Thursday, the final day before the summer recess starts.

Corbyn also refused to say when Labour would table a vote of no confidence in Johnson’s government. Asked about this, Corbyn just said Labour would go for a no confidence vote when it was “appropriate to do so”.

Updated

Merkel congratulates Johnson and says she wants UK and Germany to be 'close friends' in future

This is from Ulrike Demmer, deputy spokeswoman from the German government.

It says:

Chancellor #Merkel on the selection of Boris #Johnson: I congratulate Boris Johnson and am looking forward to good cooperation. Our countries should also be close friends in future.

Boris Johnson has now finished speaking to Tory MPs at the 1922 Committee.

Here are more tweets about what he said.

From my colleague Jessica Elgot

From the Evening Standard’s Kate Proctor

From the Daily Mail’s John Stevens

From Sky’s Aubrey Allegretti

From Politico’s Emilio Casalicchio

HuffPost’s Paul Waugh has a better version of the Keith Simpson quote.

More on Boris Johnson at the 1922 Committee.

Boris Johnson arrived at the 1922 Committee with Sajid Javid, the home secretary, at his side, increasing speculating that Javid could be appointed chancellor tomorrow. This is from my colleague Heather Stewart.

But there is also a lot of talk about Liz Truss getting the Treasury. This is from the Evening Standard’s Joe Murphy.

Updated

It is worth pointing out that the Tory Brexiters are also very happy with the appointment of Mark Spencer as the new chief whip. (See 4.10pm.)

This is from the New Statesman’s Patrick Maguire. It quotes Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the European Research Group, which represents Tories pushing for a harder Brexit. The “Spartans” is the nickname given to the ERG hardliners who refused to give in and vote for Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

And this is from Stewart Jackson, who was David Davis’s chief of staff when Davis was Brexit secretary.

This is from Jean-Claude Juncker, the outgoing president of the European commission.

Boris Johnson gets rapturous reception as he addresses Tory MPs

Boris Johnson is now addressing the 1922 Committee.

These are from Sky’s Aubrey Allegretti, HuffPost’s Paul Waugh and my colleague Jessica Elgot.

Tory moderates welcome appointment of Mark Spencer as Boris Johnson's chief whip

Mark Spencer will be Boris Johnson’s chief whip. Spencer is not exactly well known to the Westminster press corps - there has been a lot of Googling going on this afternoon - but his appointment has been welcomed by MPs from the mainstream of the party.

From Sir Nicholas Soames

From George Freeman

From Caroline Nokes

This is from Nick Boles, who was a centrist Tory until he left the party to sit as an independent.

And here is some comment on the appointment from journalists.

From ITV’s Robert Peston

From the Times’ Francis Elliott

From the Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn

Mark Spencer
Mark Spencer Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

YouGov has released some more polling on Boris Johnson, the results of a snap survey conducted in the last few hours. Almost half of voters are either dismayed or disappointed by his election as next PM, the survey suggests.

And here is Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, congratulating Boris Johnson on his election.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s long-serving prime minister, has congratulated Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson is shortly to address Tory MPs at the 1922 Committee. This is from Sky’s Aubrey Allegretti.

From ITV’s Paul Brand

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has praised Theresa May for not trying to obstruct the workings of the EU, in words that seem aimed at Boris Johnson, the Express’s Joe Barnes reports.

The incoming European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has congratulated Boris Johnson on his election as Tory leader and next PM. “We have the duty to deliver something which is good for the people of Europe and the United Kingdom,” she told reporters during a visit to France.

Updated

Scottish Conservatives remain anxious about Boris Johnson’s impact on support for independence, but rather more optimistic after a campaign that gave prominence to the union. After a meeting between Johnson and most of the Scottish Tory MPs at Westminster last week, there is a belief that he is willing to listen to those who know more about the nuances of politics north of the border, and well aware of the importance of this baker’s dozen to parliamentary arithmetic.

But Scottish Tory MSPs – the majority of whom supported Hunt – believe they will struggle to sell Johnson on the doorstep, given that Ruth Davidson’s electoral success has been based on a modern, anti-elitist version of Conservatism which many (especially the SNP) will argue that Johnson does not represent.

Read the full story here.

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, has released this statement about a conversation she had with Boris Johnson after his election as Tory leader and next PM. Foster implies Johnson is planning an early visit to Northern Ireland. She says:

I have spoken with Boris Johnson and congratulated him on becoming leader of the Conservative party.

We discussed our shared objectives of strengthening every part of the union, ensuring the 2016 referendum result is implemented and seeing devolution restored in Northern Ireland.

The confidence and supply agreement between the Conservative party and the Democratic Unionist party remains. That agreement included a review between each parliamentary session. This will take place over the coming weeks and will explore the policy priorities of both parties for the next parliamentary session.

I also look forward to welcoming Mr Johnson back to Northern Ireland shortly after becomes prime minister.

Updated

And, on the subject of Hormuz, this is from Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif.

This is from Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the German Bundestag.

This is from Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (prime minister).

From my colleague Jessica Elgot

YouGov has published some polling showing what people think about having Boris Johnson as prime minister.

It suggests he is significantly less popular than Theresa May was when she became prime minister.

Polling on Boris Johnson
Polling on Boris Johnson Photograph: YouGov

The polling also suggests that half of voters think Johnson will be poor or terrible as PM, and only one person in five thinks he will be great or good.

Polling on Boris Johnson
Polling on Boris Johnson Photograph: YouGov

But YouGov’s Chris Curtis, in his write-up, also suggests these popularity figures may not matter too much. Here’s an extract.

Firstly, while his own numbers aren’t good, his opponents’ are generally worse. The 31% who have a favourable view of Johnson is higher than the 27% who have a favourable view of Nigel Farage, the 9% who have a favourable view of Jo Swinson (because most people still haven’t heard of her) and the 18% who have a favourable view of Jeremy Corbyn.

In a head-to-head fight against the leader of the opposition over who would make the best prime minister, Boris leads Jeremy Corbyn by 34% to 20% (although they are both behind “not sure” on 42%).

Secondly, whilst Boris’s overall numbers aren’t particularly positive, he does well among the key voters he needs to bring back into the Conservative fold. They key challenge to the Conservative party is to win back the third of their voters that they have lost to the Brexit party over the past few months.

And among these voters Boris is incredibly popular, with 71% of those who say they would currently vote for Nigel Farage’s insurgent party saying they have a favourable view of him. In fact, he has about the same levels of popularity amongst Brexit party voters than amongst current Conservatives.

Finally, these numbers still have time to change before a general election takes place, and a lot depends on how he handles Brexit over the coming months.

Updated

This is from Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, on Boris Johnson.

I wish Boris Johnson well as prime minister with his ‘do or die’ pledge to deliver Brexit on October 31.

It is ‘do or die’ not just for Brexit, but for the future of the Conservative party too.

Does he have the courage to deliver for the country?

Moody’s, the credit rating agency, has issued a report today saying it thinks Boris Johnson’s ascent to become prime minister has made a no-deal Brexit more likely. Here is an extract from its news release.

Mr Johnson, who will replace Theresa May as prime minister this week, was a figurehead of the Vote Leave campaign in 2016 and has said he wants the UK to leave the EU by the deadline of 31 October 2019, regardless of whether the EU agrees to a revised deal.

“With the election of Mr Johnson, the likelihood of a sustainable compromise appears lower than before,” said Colin Ellis, Moody’s managing director for credit strategy. “Our view remains that a no-deal Brexit would have significantly negative credit effects for the UK sovereign and related issuers.

“Since the outcome of the Brexit referendum, Moody’s central expectation has been that the UK and the EU would reach a withdrawal agreement that preserves many of the features of current trading arrangements, particularly for goods. Although this would be credit-negative compared with staying in the EU, it would be significantly less damaging than a no-deal Brexit.

“Although a no-deal scenario is now more likely, there is still no majority support in parliament for such an outcome.”

Updated

Labour has sent an email to supporters about Boris Johnson. Here’s an excerpt.

Today, Boris Johnson became leader of the Conservatives. Tomorrow, he’ll be prime minister.

How did our country sink so low? Whether you think he’s a scruffy Etonian buffoon or a cold, calculating liar, what’s clear is his terrifying support of a damaging no-deal Brexit and his stunningly out-of-touch policy of tax cuts for the wealthy. We have to stop him.

It starts with revealing the real Boris Johnson: out of touch elitist. Untrustworthy. Incompetent.

And this is what the party is saying on Twitter.

Updated

Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson arriving at Conservative party HQ in Westminster. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Updated

Jeremy Corbyn has issued this statement about Boris Johnson’s election as Tory leader and next PM.

After almost a decade of austerity, we need a prime minister on the side of the many, not the few.

Boris Johnson has won the support of fewer than 100,000 unrepresentative Conservative party members by promising tax cuts for the richest, presenting himself as the bankers’ best friend, and pushing for a damaging no-deal Brexit.

But he hasn’t won the support of our country.

Johnson’s no deal would mean job cuts, higher prices in the shops, and risk our NHS being sold off to US corporations in a sweetheart deal with Donald Trump.

The people of our country should decide who becomes prime minister.

We need a Labour government for the many, not a Boris Johnson Conservative government for the few.

Jeremy Corbyn at the Tolpuddle Martyrs rally in Dorset at the weekend.
Jeremy Corbyn at the Tolpuddle Martyrs rally in Dorset at the weekend. Photograph: Geoff Moore/Rex/Shutterstock

Updated

Labour is holding a rally in Parliament Square on Thursday demanding a general election. This is from Andrew Fisher, Jeremy Corbyn’s policy adviser.

Rory Stewart, the international development secretary, always said he could not serve in cabinet under Boris Johnson because of Johnson’s support for a no-deal Brexit. He has posted a tweet to confirm he will resign tomorrow.

Here is my colleague Jessica Elgot’s take on Boris Johnson’s victory speech.

Ivanka Trump’s original tweet congratulated Boris Johnson on becoming prime minister of the United Kingston. My colleague Patrick Wintour is disappointed.

UPDATE: Here is the original.

Updated

This is from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey.

And this is how Google translates Erdoğan’s Turkish.

I congratulate @BorisJohnson, the UK’s 77th prime minister, and wish him success in his new role. I believe this develop further the Turkey-United Kingdom relations in the new era.

Erdoğan seems willing to forget Johnson’s limerick about him having sex with a goat.

By describing Johnson as the 77th prime minister, Erdoğan is using the counting system on the Downing Street website. But this is the figure for the number of times someone has been appointed PM from Sir Robert Walpole onwards, and counts some of them twice, or more than twice. A better figure would be to say Johnson will be the 55th person to serve as prime minister.

Updated

This is from Philip Hammond, who is going to resign as chancellor tomorrow because he does not want to serve under Boris Johnson. Hammond is in favour of a Brexit deal, but is strongly opposed to leaving the EU without one – a prospect Johnson is willing to contemplate.

Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond
Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond leave No 10 after a cabinet meeting this month. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski//PA

Updated

From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg

May says she will give Johnson her 'full support' from backbenches

Theresa May says she will give Boris Johnson her “full support” from the backbenches.

Updated

From Ivanka Trump, the US president’s daughter

This is from Arlene Foster, the DUP leader.

Boris Johnson fifth Old Etonian to become PM since WWII

Boris Johnson will be the fifth prime minister since the second world war to have been educated at Eton College, the Press Association reports. The other four to attend the independent, fee-paying boarding school were David Cameron (prime minister from 2010-16), Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64), Harold Macmillan (1957-63) and Anthony Eden (1955-57). Like Boris Johnson, all of them were Conservative prime ministers.

It means one-third of the UK’s 15 prime ministers since 1945 are Old Etonians – the name given to former pupils of the college, PA reports. Three other postwar PMs attended independent schools: Clement Attlee (Haileybury), Winston Churchill (Harrow) and Tony Blair (Fettes). The rest, including the outgoing prime minister, Theresa May, attended grammar schools.

Eton College, near Windsor in Berkshire.
Eton College, near Windsor in Berkshire. Photograph: Matthew Fearn/PA

Updated

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, found Boris Johnson’s victory speech (see 12.48pm and 1.28pm) “embarrassingly underwhelming”.

From Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader

Amber Rudd (right) and Rachel Johnson at the Tory leadership election announcement.
Amber Rudd (right) and Rachel Johnson at the Tory leadership election announcement. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/EPA

Updated

A source close to Boris Johnson said cabinet appointments would not be made until Wednesday evening, the Press Association reports. He is expected to spend this afternoon finalising the top ministerial team and preparing his speech for Wednesday. Johnson will also address the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs at 4pm today and visit CCHQ.

Plaid Cymru says election of Johnson as new PM 'a gift' to Welsh independent movement

This is from Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s leader at Westminster.

The Conservative party has just thrown the UK out of the frying pan and into the fire.

During the most serious political crisis in decades, a clown is set to become prime minister. But this is no joke.

People will soon realise, this isn’t as good as it gets. By electing Boris Johnson, the Conservative party has given the Welsh independence movement a gift.

With the election of Mr Johnson, the question of Welsh independence is not of ‘if’, but ‘when’.

Full text of Boris Johnson's victory speech

Here is the full text of Boris Johnson’s victory speech.

I want to begin by thanking my opponent, Jeremy, by common consent an absolutely formidable campaigner and a great leader and a great politician.

Jeremy, in the course of 20 hustings, more, 20 hustings or hustings-style events, it was more than 3,000 miles by the way, it was about 7,000 miles that we did criss-crossing the country, you’ve been friendly, you’ve been good natured, you’ve been a font of excellent ideas, all of which I intend to steal forthwith.

And above all I want to thank our outgoing leader, Theresa May for her extraordinary service to this party and to this country.

It was a privilege. It was a privilege to serve in her Cabinet and to see the passion and determination that she brought to the many causes that are her legacy - from equal pay for men and women, to tackling the problems of mental health and racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

Thank you, Theresa. Thank you.

And I want to thank all of you. All of you here today and obviously I want [to thank] everybody in the Conservative party for your hard work, for your campaigning, for your public spirit and obviously for the extraordinary honour and privilege you have just conferred on me.

And I know that there will be people around the place who will question the wisdom of your decision.

And there may even be some people here who still wonder quite what they have done.

I would just point out to you of course nobody, no one party, no one person has a monopoly of wisdom. But if you look at the history of the last 200 years of this party’s existence you will see that it is we Conservatives who have had the best insights, I think, into human nature.

And the best insights into how to manage the jostling sets of instincts in the human heart. And time and again it is to us that the people of this country have turned to get that balance right.

Between the instincts to own your own house, your own home, to earn and spend your own money, to look after your own family. Good instincts, proper instincts, noble instincts.

And the equally noble instinct to share. And to give everyone a fair chance in life. And to look after the poorest and the neediest and to build a great society.

And on the whole in the last 200 years it is we Conservatives who have understood best how to encourage those instincts, to work together in harmony to promote the good of the whole country.

And today at this pivotal moment in our history we again have to reconcile two sets of instincts, two noble sets of instincts.

Between the deep desire of friendship and free trade and mutual support in security and defence between Britain and our European partners.

And the simultaneous desire, equally deep and heartfelt, for democratic self-government in this country.

And of course, there are some people who say that they’re irreconcilable and it just can’t be done.

And indeed I read in my Financial Times this morning, devoted reader that I am - seriously, it is a great, great, great British brand.

I read in my Financial Times this morning that there is no incoming leader, no incoming leader has ever faced such a set of daunting circumstances, it said.

Well, I look at you this morning and I ask myself, do you look daunted? Do you feel daunted? I don’t think you look remotely daunted to me.

And I think that we know we can do it and that the people of this country are trusting in us to do it and we know that we will do it.

And we know the mantra of the campaign that has just gone by, in case you have forgotten it and you probably have, it is deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn - and that is what we are going to do.

We are all going to defeat Jeremy Corbyn.

I know that some wag has already pointed out that deliver, unite and defeat was not the perfect acronym for an election campaign, since unfortunately it spells dud - but they forgot the final ‘e’ my friends, ‘e’ for energise.

And I say to all the doubters, dude, we are going to energise the country.

We are going to get Brexit done on October 31.

We are going to take advantage of all the opportunities that it will bring in a new spirit of can-do.

And we are once again going to believe in ourselves and what we can achieve.

And like some slumbering giant, we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self-doubt and negativity, with better education, better infrastructure, more police, fantastic full-fibre broadband sprouting in every household - we are going to unite this amazing country and we are going to take it forward.

I thank you all very much for the incredible honour that you have just done me.

I will work flat out from now on with my team that I will build, I hope in the next few days, to repay your confidence, but in the meantime the campaign is over and the work begins.

Thank you all very much.

Boris Johnson giving his leadership speech.
Boris Johnson giving his leadership speech. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Updated

Jo Swinson, the new Lib Dem leader, says Boris Johnson is not fit to be PM.

And here is Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, on Boris Johnson’s election.

Unfortunately Barnier will find that ratifying the withdrawal agreement is not high on Johnson’s list of priorities. Johnson says the withdrawal agreement as it currently exists, with the backstop, is unacceptable.

Jeremy Hunt (left) congratulating Boris Johnson earlier.
Jeremy Hunt (left) congratulating Boris Johnson earlier. Photograph: Reuters

Updated

The European parliament’s Brexit steering group will hold a meeting tomorrow with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, to discuss the implications of Boris Johnson’s election, Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament’s lead Brexit spokesman, says.

Tobias Ellwood, the defence minister who has been very critical of the idea of accepting a no-deal Brexit as an acceptable outcome, is not planning to resign, and has urged colleagues to support Boris Johnson. “It’s a duty of every MP to support the prime minister right now,” he told the Press Association.

Updated

Boris Johnson has tweeted this message following his election as Tory leader.

And Jeremy Hunt has sent this message to the man who beat him.

'Vast majority' of Scots will be concerned to have Johnson as PM, says Sturgeon

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, says she has “profound concerns” about Boris Johnson’s election, and demands that he take the threat of a no-deal Brexit off the table immediately.

I congratulate Boris Johnson on his election as Tory leader and I will do everything possible to ensure that he respects Scotland’s views and interests. However, I have profound concerns about the prospect of his premiership and it would be hypocritical not to be frank about these. These are concerns that I am certain will be shared by the vast majority of people in Scotland who, had they been given any say, would not have chosen to hand the keys of No 10 to someone with his views and track record.

Brexit of any kind would be deeply damaging to Scotland and the rest of the UK, but his public pledge to leave the EU by 31 October – ‘come what may’ and ‘do or die’ – flies in the face of logic, common sense or any basic regard for the wellbeing of the people and nations of the UK.

It is a deeply irresponsible threat, and not one that should be contemplated by any serious political leader. It should now be taken off the table without delay or equivocation.

Sturgeon pledged that her Scottish government would be “at the forefront of all and any moves to stop Brexit and block a no-deal Brexit, as will SNP MPs in the House of Commons”, adding that these efforts were supported across the political spectrum.

Updated

Theresa May has chaired her last cabinet, and from the sound of things it was a very much an end-of-term affair, focused on praising her record and then handing over parting gifts.

The meeting discussed funding for the NHS and how to tackle May’s much-mentioned “burning injustices”, such as access to mental health treatment, her spokesman said, and generally agreed that she had done a great job on housebuilding, employment and the economy.

“The PM thanked the cabinet for all they had done during her premiership, which she said had done much to improve people’s lives,” her spokesman said. She also thanked No 10 advisers and the civil service.

Then May’s de facto deputy, David Lidington, thanked her “for her great dedicated to public service, and her commitment to the union”, the spokesman said.

Finally, it was over to Michael Gove, the environment secretary, who handed over presents paid for by a cabinet whip-round – a black Liberty handbag and a crystal necklace by the French company Lalique.

May’s spokesman was pressed on precisely what bag it was, and gamely spent some time looking at the Liberty website on his phone to see if he could recognise it, but that detail will have to come later.

An anti-Boris Johnson protester holds up a sign after his announcement as Britain’s next prime minister at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London.
An anti-Boris Johnson protester holds up a sign after his announcement as Britain’s next prime minister at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Updated

Outside the Queen Elizabeth II centre in Westminster, about 100 pro-Brexit and pro-EU protesters were gathered alongside members of the press waiting for the future prime minister to emerge from the building.

Some campaigners shouted: “Bollocks to Brexit” and “You can shove your Brexit up Farage” while waving EU flags. Others were holding: “We voted leave” placards over the temporary barriers outside the centre.

Ruth Bradshaw, 76, who lives in London, was among the pro-EU demonstrators disappointed by the news of Boris Johnson’s victory.

“I’m here to stop Brexit,” she said. “I’m very displeased by the news Boris will be the next PM, but I have to say I’m not shocked. I think of the two remaining candidates, the one with more common sense was Mr Hunt – who was prepared to extend the deadline after Halloween.”

Updated

Trump congratulates Boris Johnson, saying he will be 'great' as UK's next PM

President Trump has congratulated Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson's victory speech - Snap analysis

Boris Johnson’s speech was very short, and probably a disappointment to anyone expecting some trademark Johnson jokes. It was also rather thin for someone who has spent the last four weeks certain almost beyond doubt that they would become the next prime minister. But Johnson will be giving a speech in Downing Street tomorrow, which will receive more attention, he is expected to make a statement to MPs on Thursday, and he is scheduled to give a major speech at the end of this week. Now was not really the time for a major statement of intent.

Still, in an extract buried in the middle of the speech, there were two clues as to where he intends to go. Here is key passage.

If you look at the history of the last 200 years of this party’s existence, you will see that it is we Conservatives who have had the best insights, I think, into human nature, and the best insights into how to manage the jostling sets of instincts in the human heart.

And time again it is to us that the people of this country have turned to get that balance right, between the instincts to own your own home, to earn and spend your own money, to look after your own family – good instincts, proper instincts, noble instincts – and the equally noble instinct to share and to give everyone a fair chance in life. And to look out to the poorest and the neediest, and to build a great society.

And on the whole, in the last 200 years, it is we Conservatives who have understood best how to encourage those instincts to work together in harmony, to promote the good of the whole country.

And today, at this pivotal moment in our history, we again have to reconcile two sets of instincts, two noble sets of instincts, between the deep desire for friendship and free trade and mutual support in security and defence between Britain and our European partners, and the simultaneous desire – equally deep and heartfelt – for democratic self-government in this country.

What does this mean? Here are two thoughts.

  • Johnson stressed his desire for a partnership with the EU, not confrontation, in his first public comments as prime minister-elect. He could have gone for a reprise of his “Brexit by 31 October, do or die” campaign message, but instead he stressed the importance of having a close and friendly relationship with the EU. That final sentence could have come from a David Cameron speech. This does not necessarily tell you much – the Tory Brexiters think they have Johnson hostage, and so his room for manoeuvre may be limited – but it is interesting nonetheless.
  • Johnson adopted the language of one nation Conservatism, stressing the importance of caring for the “poorest and the neediest”. Johnson’s supporters claim that, on all issues other than Brexit, he is at heart a mainstream, one nation Conservative. That is hard to square with his enthusiasm for Brexit and Donald Trump, but it was a common assessment of Johnson when he was London mayor. The real question, perhaps, is whether one nation Conservatism is compatible with hardline Brexitism (which takes you towards Nigel Farage-style nativism), but it is worth noting that Johnson still wants to use this language.
Boris Johnson giving his victory speech.
Boris Johnson giving his victory speech. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Updated

How Boris Johnson's majority compares with other party leaders'

Boris Johnson received 66% of the vote, on an 87% turnout.

In percentage terms, that is better than Jeremy Corbyn achieved in the last Labour leadership election, in 2016, when he got 62% of the vote on a 78% turnout (although the electorate in that contest was much larger). It is also better than Jo Swinson achieved yesterday, when she was elected Lib Dem leader with 63% of the vote on a 72% turnout.

Johnson has also done better than Iain Duncan Smith, the first Conservative leader elected by members, not just MPs. In 2001 Duncan Smith got 61% of the vote on a 78% turnout.

But Johnson has not managed to beat his old rival, David Cameron. Cameron had 68% of the vote when he won in 2005, on a turnout that was also 78%.

He says his three priorities – deliver, unite and defeat – form the acronym Dud. But that is to leave out the final plan: “energise”. So his acronym is Dude, he jokes.

He says he is now going to get on with the job.

And that’s it.

Updated

Boris Johnson says the party has to reconcile two conflicting instincts again: the instinct to work with others, and the instinct for self-government.

He says in the Financial Times this morning someone said no incoming leader had ever faced such a daunting set of circumstances.

But do you look daunted, he asks the audience. They don’t look or feel daunted he says.

He says the mantra of his campaign was to deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn.

(He used to include unite the party too, but with all the resignations, that might not have sounded such a good line.)

Updated

Boris Johnson says there will be people who question the wisdom of the decision to elect him.

No one person or party has a monopoly of wisdom, he says.

But he says over time the Conservatives have had the best instincts, and the best way of balancing instincts, like the instinct to own your own home and keep your own money, and the instinct to share.

The Conservatives have encouraged those instincts to work together, he says.

Boris Johnson's victory speech

Boris Johnson is giving his victory speech.

He starts by saying Jeremy Hunt was a formidable opponent.

He was a fount of excellent ideas, all of which Johnson says he proposes to steal forthwith.

And he thanks Theresa May for her service.

Boris Johnson speaks after being announced as Britain’s next prime minister.
Boris Johnson speaks after being announced as Britain’s next prime minister. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Updated

Boris Johnson won with 66% of the vote.

Gillan said there were 159,320 people eligible to vote.

Turnout was 87.4%.

And there were 509 rejected ballot papers.

Boris Johnson elected Tory leader and next PM

Gillan is now announcing the results.

Boris Johnson: 92,153

Jeremy Hunt: 46,656

Dame Cheryl Gillan is explaining the election process.

She also thanks party staff, and the party’s board. And she thanks the ERS for conducting a professional election. And she thanks the 1922 executive too.

She also thanks everyone who voted in the election, and the candidates who stood. Both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt emerged as worthy candidates, she said.

Dame Cheryl Gillan and Charles Walker from the 1922 Committee come on stage to announce the results.

Walker thanks the party staff. He says he has a plea as a backbencher.

Can we be kinder to the next prime minister than we have been to the current prime minister?

Updated

Lewis invites Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt into the hall.

Lewis thanks Theresa May for her service. It is now paramount that they come together, he says.

He says the party will deliver best for the country when it is united.

Updated

Lewis says Tory members have undertaken a solemn duty in choosing the next leader.

They have engaged constructively and thoughtfully in the process. He says he thinks the party has risen to the task.

Brandon Lewis, the party chairman, is speaking now.

He says he is proud of the way the election has been conducted. The candidates have travelled the country and taken hundreds of questions.

He says the online live hustings, open to everyone in the country, was a first for a political party.

He thanks party staff for their work.

Now we’ve got a clip from John Major – but not the statement about the dangers of a no-deal Brexit he made yesterday.

David Cameron and Theresa May have also been featured.

Updated

Now an extract from Margaret Thatcher’s final speech in the Commons.

At the QEII centre some audio is now being played. It is Winston Churchill, followed by Harold Macmillan (I think) talking about how great it is to be made prime minister.

Then Margaret Thatcher’s “You turn if you want to, the lady’s not for turning” soundbite.

The announcement seems imminent.

Here is Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, checking his watch. As are many people. The event is running late.

Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, arriving at the QEII centre.
Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, arriving at the QEII centre.
 Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

From my colleague Daniel Boffey in Brussels

Here is Jeremy Hunt and his wife Lucia arriving at the QEII centre a few minutes ago.

Jeremy Hunt and his wife Lucia Guo arrive for the announcement of Britain’s next PM
Jeremy Hunt and his wife Lucia Guo arrive for the announcement of Britain’s next PM Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Updated

This is from Arlene Foster, the DUP leader.

The Tory Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg arriving at the QEII centre.
The Tory Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg arriving at the QEII centre. Photograph: Frank Augstein/AP

From BuzzFeed’s Matthew Champion

From the Mail on Sunday’s Harry Cole

Mark Spencer is currently a whip.

From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar

Lithuanian European commissioner accuses Boris Johnson of 'unrealistic promises' and ignoring economic reality

In an extraordinary blog Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European commissioner for health and food safety, who is from Lithuania, suggests that Boris Johnson and his fellow Brexiters are just as dishonest as Boris Yeltsin and other politicians were in post-Soviet Russia. Here’s an excerpt.

Almost ironically, without comparing the UK itself with the USSR because it is not comparable, I can’t think of a better golden standard than the USSR in terms of fact distortion, reality falsification and blunt oblivions of reality.

Then there were the heroes of the perestroika era swearing that they would create a market economy in post-Soviet Russia within 500 days! ‘500 Day Programme’ is history. Like the other the most unrealistic promises at the time, this never became a reality. People paid for these empty and broken promises with impoverishment, inequality and much more. The programme also left one infamous quote: ‘Boris, ti ne prav’ (‘Boris, you are wrong’)!

It is a different Boris, of course, but there was something in the way of doing politics that was similar: many unrealistic promises, ignoring economic rationales and rational decisions. These decisions led to a new autocratic constitution and finally paved the way to Vladimir Putin. Today in Russia we have oligarchs, a pseudo-market economy, a regulated, governed pseudo-democracy. And, Putin’s authoritarianism. For Boris Yeltsin, the warning came true: “Boris, you are wrong”. Hopefully, it will not be the case for Boris Johnson if he is elected today.

The cabinet bought Theresa May a handbag and some jewellery as a leaving present, the Times’ Steven Swinford reports.

Updated

From the Independent’s Andrew Woodcock

This is from my colleague Heather Stewart, who is at the QEII centre.

Here are some other senior Tories arriving at the QEII centre.

Theresa Villiers arriving at the QEII centre.
Theresa Villiers arriving at the QEII centre. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA
Dominic Raab (left) arriving at the QEII centre.
Dominic Raab (left) arriving at the QEII centre. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA
Andrea Leadsom arriving at the QEII centre.
Andrea Leadsom arriving at the QEII centre. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA
Liz Truss arriving at the QEII centre.
Liz Truss arriving at the QEII centre. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

Boris Johnson is arriving at the QEII centre shortly.

Updated

This is from Anna Soubry, the former Tory MP who now leads the Independent Group for Change.

Anne Milton resigns as skills minister saying she has 'grave concerns' about Boris Johnson's Brexit stance

Anne Milton has resigned as skills minister, saying she has “grave concerns” about the prospect of leaving the EU without a deal (something that Boris Johnson says ministers must accept as an option if they want to serve in his cabinet).

She also points out that she abstained last week (ie defying the government whip, which was to vote against) when MPs backed a move intended to stop Boris Johnson proroguing parliament to facilitate a no-deal Brexit.

Labour MP John Mann appointed adviser to government on antisemitism

Downing Street has just announced that the Labour MP John Mann has been appointed to the government as an independent adviser to the government on antisemitism. Mann, a Brexiter who has been critical of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of Labour, chairs the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism. He will provide advice to the the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Commenting on the appointment, Theresa May said:

Antisemitism is racism. It has absolutely no place in our society and we must fight its bitter scourge wherever it rears its head.

I’ve been proud to lead a government that is tackling such discrimination in all its forms – from making sure courts have the powers they need to deal with those who peddle hatred, to asking the Law Commission to undertake a full review of hate crime legislation. But there is yet more to do.

John Mann is, without exception, a key voice on this matter. He has frequently campaigned in the House of Commons on this issue and has tirelessly used his role as a politician to speak out on behalf of victims of anti-Jewish racism.

I am confident he will bring the level of cross-party independent advice needed to advise government and to ensure we see progress on this very important issue.

The scene inside the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London, where the result of the Tory leadership election will be announced within the next hour.
The scene inside the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London, where the result of the Tory leadership election will be announced within the next hour.
 Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Sky’s Sam Coates has the timetable for the announcement.

We will have a live feed at the top of the blog.

A bouquet of flowers are delivered at Number 10 today for Theresa May on her last full day as prime minister.
A bouquet of flowers are delivered at Number 10 today for Theresa May on her last full day as prime minister. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over Nadeem Badshah. Sorry not to be in earlier. I was held up at home.

Here is video of Boris Johnson’s brother Jo and father Stanley arriving at the QEII centre in Westminster for the announcement of the results of the Tory leadership contest.

Nigel Evans, the Conservative backbench MP, told the BBC:

The only thing that’s certain is that Larry the Cat is going to stay in place as the Downing Street cat.

Prime ministers come and go, Larry remains in place.

Updated

When asked if he believes Boris Johnson could be persuaded that a third runway should be built at Heathrow, the airport’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye told the PA news agency:

It’s actually a fait accompli now. The vote in parliament with nearly a four-to-one majority means this is now happening.

The judicial review process was a resounding success for the Department for Transport at the first stage, so this is now a reality and things have moved on.

We’re now making it happen. There are jobs now that we have created up and down the country that would be at risk if anything else was to happen, and hundreds of thousands more that we’ll create as we expand.

So I don’t think any prime minister would not want to see the benefits that come with Heathrow expansion.

Updated

The new Conservative leader will be announced at the QEII centre in London at around 11:45am with campaigners for a People’s Vote protesting outside the venue in Westminster.

New Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson says her door is open to members of rival parties who want to join her and the prospect of a Boris Johnson-led Conservative Party pushing for a no-deal Brexit could increase the chances of a second referendum.

She said she was involved in talks with MPs from other parties, including the Conservatives, about defecting.

“Our door is absolutely open to people who share our values,” Swinson, who was appointed Lib Dem leader yesterday, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

I am talking to people in different parties, including Conservatives.

There is a reason why thousands of people are joining the Liberal Democrats, when the Conservatives have gone off to the right and Labour have gone off to the left and people who want to see a better politics, a better alternative than the - frankly depressing - choice of Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, they can join us because there is a better way.

She admitted there might not yet be a majority in parliament for a so-called people’s vote on Brexit but the numbers in favour of another referendum would be bolstered by disaffected Tories under Johnson.

Updated

Rory Stewart says he will not serve under Boris Johnson

When asked if he would serve under Boris Johnson, international development secretary Rory Stewart replied: “No.”

Stewart is among the ministers who have arrived at Number 10 along with Matt Hancock, Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss, Karen Bradley and Jeremy Wright for a cabinet meeting.

It will be Theresa May’s final cabinet meeting as prime minister.

Rory Stewart arriving for cabinet today.
Rory Stewart arriving for cabinet today. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Green MEP Philippe Lamberts, a member of the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group, said if Boris Johnson wins the Tory leadership race he “will be confronting the exact same situation as Theresa May”.

The Belgian MEP told the Today programme:

Boris Johnson is known to want many things and often contradictory things like having your cake and eating it, he is on record saying that.

So indeed he wants good relations with the European Union and he wants to be able to cut off all ties and not have the Irish backstop and all the rest of it.

He suggested Johnson should seek to pass a Brexit deal with a Northern Ireland-only backstop, something which would lose the support of the DUP but could pick up support from elsewhere in the Commons.

Updated

Former defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon has claimed Boris Johnson’s optimism and fresh mandate would help shift Brussels towards a deal.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

Nobody is aiming for no-deal, that is not the strategy.

We want a better deal, parliament wants a better deal, and Boris Johnson has made clear throughout that he wants a better deal.

But the way to get a better deal is to be very firm that that date is there in law.

There are three months now before the end of October and it is perfectly possible, with plenty of goodwill on both sides, to improve the agreement so that parliament does, in the end, support it.

Updated

Gauke says there is 'clear majority' in Commons against no-deal Brexit

Justice secretary David Gauke, who said on Sunday he would not serve in Cabinet under Boris Johnson, believes there were “parliamentary mechanisms” which could prevent a no-deal Brexit.

That would “not necessarily” involve bringing down a Johnson administration, he said.

Gauke stressed that he would not vote against a Tory government in a motion of no confidence if it was heading towards a no-deal Brexit, but does not think “it will come to that.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

I think that there will be parliamentary mechanisms, if you like.

There is a clear majority in the House of Commons that doesn’t want to leave the EU without a deal, I think that will become very clear in the autumn.

He added there was the possibility of a “period of huge uncertainty” in Westminster as the October 31 deadline approaches.

Are there circumstances where there is a risk of a government losing a confidence motion? Yes, clearly there are circumstances where there is a risk that that might happen.

I think that the new prime minister would be wise to avoid getting into those circumstances.

Updated

The outcome of the ballot of about 160,000 Tory members will be revealed at just before midday in London with the victor officially becoming prime minister on Wednesday.

Jeremy Hunt was in a positive mood when he arrived home from a run this morning despite Boris Johnson remaining the clear favourite to take over from Theresa May.

The foreign secretary said it was still “all to play for”, a comment echoed by his rival as he entered his campaign headquarters.

A Johnson win could spark more government resignations after Sir Alan Duncan quit as Foreign Office minister on Monday in protest at his expected victory, predicting a “crisis of government”.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and justice secretary David Gauke have given notice that they will resign rather than serve under Johnson.

Updated

Moving away from the white smoke to confirm the next prime minister, Ruth Smeeth, parliamentary chairwoman of the Jewish Labour Movement, has called for a completely independent process for dealing with anti-Semitism cases in the party.

The MP told the Today programme:

The proposals that were sanctioned by the shadow cabinet and will be discussed today at the NEC just simply aren’t good enough.

There is still no independence, in fact arguably political power over anti-Semitism cases is going to be consolidated by political supporters of Jeremy Corbyn.

I think we need a completely independent process that could restore faith for everybody.

Updated

Boris Johnson entered his campaign headquarters in Westminster at around 8am.

Asked if he agreed with his rival Jeremy Hunt that it was still all to play for, he said: “All to play for.”

Good morning. There is a momentous day ahead with Boris Johnson expected to be announced as the choice of the Conservative party to be the next prime minister.

Theresa May is set to chair her final cabinet meeting as prime minister.

At around 4pm, Gina Miller, Sir John Curtice and Henry Newman are scheduled give evidence on the impact of a no-deal Brexit to the Lords EU Committee

Updated

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