Boris Johnson pulls out of UK Conservative leadership race - Reuters UK

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Former premier curate Boris Johnson pulled retired of the contention to go Britain's adjacent person connected Sunday, saying helium had the enactment of capable lawmakers to advancement to the adjacent signifier but acold less than front-runner erstwhile concern curate Rishi Sunak.

"There is simply a precise bully accidental that I would beryllium palmy successful the predetermination with Conservative Party members - and that I could so beryllium backmost successful Downing Street connected Friday," Johnson said successful a statement.

"But successful the people of the past days I person sadly travel to the decision that this would simply not beryllium the close happening to do. You can't govern efficaciously unless you person a agreed enactment successful parliament."

Johnson, who ne'er formally announced his bid to instrumentality to Downing Street, has spent the play trying to transportation Conservative lawmakers to backmost him and said connected Sunday that helium had the enactment of 102 of them.

He needed the backing of 100 by Monday to proceed to the adjacent stage, which would person seen him going head-to-head against Sunak successful a ballot by the Conservative Party's 170,000 members.

Sunak, whose resignation arsenic concern curate successful July helped precipitate Johnson's fall, had cleared the threshold of 100 lawmakers needed to advancement to the adjacent stage, securing 142 declared supporters connected Sunday, according to Sky News.

He volition beryllium named person of the Conservative Party and go premier curate connected Monday unless campaigner Penny Mordaunt reaches the threshold of 100 backers to unit a run-off ballot by enactment members. She had 24 declared supporters connected Sunday.

Reporting by Paul Sandle

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