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Boris Johnson says he will not run for Tory party leadership after Gove challenge – live Boris Johnson says he will not run for Tory party leadership after Gove challenge – live
(35 minutes later)
1.07pm BST
13:07
Here is the Tory MP Paul Scully on Boris Johnson’s announcement.
Gracious speech by @BorisJohnson pulling out of the race for leader. Hope he continues to play a big role.
1.03pm BST
13:03
Haroon Siddique
Jeremy Corbyn is attracting more criticism over the anti-semitism event, where he was accused of comparing Israel with Isis.
From PA:
A Labour MP stormed out of a press conference staged by Jeremy Corbyn after being accused of colluding with the right-wing press by one of the leader’s grassroots supporters.
A clearly upset Ruth Smeeth had been at the launch of a report into anti-Semitism in the party when it was claimed she was in cahoots with The Daily Telegraph.
You sat there and watched our colleague Ruth Smeeth abused at a Labour event this morning. Your words are hollow. https://t.co/XvJQQUeFt6
Updated
at 1.04pm BST
1.03pm BST
13:03
Stewart Jackson is another disappointed Brexit Tory MP
I feel terribly disappointed for Boris who on any event has made history and for whom the UK will be indebted. I'll make my choice on Monday
1.01pm BST
13:01
These are from my colleague Martin Kettle.
Boris Johnson will be editor of the Daily Telegraph by Christmas
As Boris Johnson has a US passport maybe he is about to run for president instead
The Tory party has proved yet again it has PhD in ruthlessness. Labour hasn't even passed GCSE.
12.58pm BST
12:58
These are from the BBC’s Andrew Sinclair.
Boris supporter @JDjanogly "i'm dissappointed" @JamesCleverly fighting back tears "i'm gutted"
He is referring to Tory MPs Jonathan Djanogly and James Cleverly.
And Nadine Dorries, another pro-Johnson Conservative, was in tears, he says.
Boris supporter @NadineDorriesMP in tears at decision not to stand
12.51pm BST
12:51
Haroon Siddique
Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are both coming in for stick over today’s drama but for different reasons.
Rob Ford, professor of political science at Manchester University, says of Johnson:
Boris engineered the largest constitutional crisis in post-war history but won't even put his name forward to clear it up? What. A. Prat.
Actor Ewan McGregor is none too impressed either..
@BorisJohnson You spineless c$&t You lead this ludicrous campaign to leave EU. Win, and now fuc& off to let someone else clear up your mess.
I will say a bit not good of Boris to invite his supporters and strand them in public like that without telling them. Feel sorry Nadine now
Although Jamie Oliver will be pleased.
As for Gove ...
One MP loyal to Boris:"What Michael Gove has done today will live on in political history for a long time. He's trashed his own reputation"
The Mirror quotes an unnamed friend of Johnson as saying:
Michael Gove has just been the most amazing shit.
Updated
at 12.51pm BST
12.49pm BST
12:49
Nazia Parveen
James Wharton, a communities minister, who declared his support for Boris Johnson yesterday has said that he does not know who he will support now. He said:
I am disappointed but it is a fast moving political environment. I will now look at what other candidates will propose.
I had a private meeting with Boris on Monday where he gave me assurances about the sort of things I wanted to see for the north of England, for the way we will take the Northern Powerhouse forward.
I had specific, private assurances about projects that I wanted to see supported across the north. I will now wait to see what the other candidates will offer.
12.37pm BST
12:37
What the Gove camp say about why Gove abandoned Boris Johnson
Andrew Sparrow
Michael Gove decided late last night that he could no longer support Boris Johnson’s bid for the Tory leadership, according to sources familiar with what happened. Until very recently he had been clear that he would not stand himself. But he thought it would boil down to a contest between Theresa May and Boris Johnson. Having concluded he could not support Johnson, he was then reluctant to see May go unchallenged, because he thought there had to be a leave candidate. And so he decided to stand himself.
Gove tried to call Boris Johnson this morning to tell him, but could not get hold of him. But he did speak to Sir Lynton Crosby, who was running Johnson’s campaign, before releasing his statement to the media.
And that helps to explain why Gove decided he could not support Johnson. According to sources, Gove felt that Johnson did not have the “grip” necessary to run Number 10. Gove admired him as a campaigner. But, over the last week, as Gove and his allies worked with Johnson on Johnson’s leadership campaign, they became concerned by how chaotic he was. There were various people Johnson was supposed to bringing into the campaign who failed to come on board. Monday’s Telegraph article was not cleared with colleagues. Gove and his supporters felt the necessary structures were not there, and that this was because Johnson lacked the ability to run and organise an operation of this kind.
There has been speculation that Gove abandoned Johnson because he felt he was going to backtrack on Brexit (to be the leaver who delivered remain, as Nicholas Watt put it in his question to Theresa May earlier - see 10.11am.) Sources dismiss this; they say the problems with Johnson were organisational and managerial, not so much ideological. And they have also dismissed suggestions that Gove abandoned Johnson because the press barons Rupert Murdoch and Paul Dacre were refusing to support him (as Sarah Vine’s leaked email suggested). Murdoch and Dacre would have supported a Johnson bid which included Gove, they say.
And they insist that, just because Gove does not see Johnson as a suitable potential prime minister, that does not mean that he would not get a cabinet job in a Gove administration. Gove does rate Johnson - just not highly enough to want to put him in Number 10.
Updated
at 12.43pm BST
12.32pm BST12.32pm BST
12:3212:32
5 candidates in Conservative leadership contest5 candidates in Conservative leadership contest
Here is the official list of contestants in the Tory leadership contest. Nominations closed at noon.Here is the official list of contestants in the Tory leadership contest. Nominations closed at noon.
Here now are the official runners and riders (candidates, proposers, seconders) as announced by the 1922 Committee. pic.twitter.com/QZsVjYu1OHHere now are the official runners and riders (candidates, proposers, seconders) as announced by the 1922 Committee. pic.twitter.com/QZsVjYu1OH
12.28pm BST12.28pm BST
12:2812:28
Haroon SiddiqueHaroon Siddique
A Labour briefing says Michael Gove has gone on the record as saying he is “not equipped to be prime minister” and points out that he has ruled himself out of standing at least nine times.A Labour briefing says Michael Gove has gone on the record as saying he is “not equipped to be prime minister” and points out that he has ruled himself out of standing at least nine times.
It says:It says:
In doing so [standing] Michael Gove has sent a message that he would rather the country get a prime minister who himself thinks he’s not up to the job than let one of his Tory rivals succeed.In doing so [standing] Michael Gove has sent a message that he would rather the country get a prime minister who himself thinks he’s not up to the job than let one of his Tory rivals succeed.
In saying that he is better suited for the role than his other rivals, Michael Gove is in effect saying that they are not up to the job of rime minister. We know this because he doesn’t think he is up to the job and shouldn’t be doing it. In saying that he is better suited for the role than his other rivals, Michael Gove is in effect saying that they are not up to the job of prime minister. We know this because he doesn’t think he is up to the job and shouldn’t be doing it.
Among the quotes by Gove in the past which it cites are:Among the quotes by Gove in the past which it cites are:
“I don’t think I have got that exceptional level of ability required to do the job.”“I don’t think I have got that exceptional level of ability required to do the job.”
“I don’t have what it takes.”“I don’t have what it takes.”
andand
“I am not equipped to be prime minister.” (World At One, BBC Radio 4, October 2012)“I am not equipped to be prime minister.” (World At One, BBC Radio 4, October 2012)
During his speech at the launch of the report into antisemitism in the Labour party, for which Jeremy Corbyn himself has received flak, the opposition leader attacked Gove’s language during the referendum campaign. He said:During his speech at the launch of the report into antisemitism in the Labour party, for which Jeremy Corbyn himself has received flak, the opposition leader attacked Gove’s language during the referendum campaign. He said:
The justice secretary Michael Gove compared pro-Remain economists to Nazi collaborators, a startling example of the way in which the Nazi regime and the Holocaust can be minimalised, trivialised or even forgotten by ill-judged comparisons. The justice secretary Michael Gove compared pro-remain economists to Nazi collaborators, a startling example of the way in which the Nazi regime and the Holocaust can be minimalised, trivialised or even forgotten by ill-judged comparisons.
UpdatedUpdated
at 12.29pm BST at 12.37pm BST
12.03pm BST
12:03
Boris Johnson's surprise announcement in full
Here is Johnson’s surprise announcement at the end of his speech. It came after he called for measures to cut inequality and spread opportunity.
That is the agenda for the next prime minister of this country.
Well, I must tell you, my friends, you who have waited faithfully for the punchline of this speech, that having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me.
My role will be to give every possible support to the next Conservative administration to make sure that we properly fulfil the mandate of the people that was delivered at the referendum and to champion the agenda that I believe in, to stick up for the forgotten people of this country.
And, if we do so, if we invest in our children and improve their life chances, if we continue to fuel the engines of social mobility, if we build on the great reforming legacy of David Cameron, if we invest in our infrastructure and we follow a sensible, one nation Conservative approach that is simultaneously tax-cutting and pro-enterprise, then I believe that this country can win and be better and more wonderful and, yes, greater than ever before.
12.00pm BST
12:00
Corbyn accused of comparing Israel with Isis
Haroon Siddique
Meanwhile, the embattled Labour leader Jeremy Corby has put the cat among the pigeons at the launch of a report into antisemitism within the party with a quote which appeared to liken Israel to Islamic State (Isis):
Corbyn: "Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel than our Muslim friends are for the self-styled Islamic State"
He then denied he was comparing them:
.@PolhomeEditor asking Corbyn whether he's comparing Israel to Isis. Corbyn says no. No questions taken from UK Jewish media. Shambolic
They were not just a slip of the tongue either, as the remarks were in his prepared text:
Our Jewish friends are no more responsible for the actions of Israel or the [Binyamin] Netanyahu government than our Muslim friends are for those of self-styled Islamic states or organisations.
Jewish supporters of Labour party, after Corbyn compares Israel to ISIS, during launch of report on antisemitism pic.twitter.com/zlyo2UAfFh
Corbyn refused to take questions about his leadership travails.
11.54am BST
11:54
He is not taking questions.
11.54am BST
11:54
Johnson has finished his speech now.
11.53am BST
11:53
Johnson pulls out of Tory leadership contest
Johnson says that this is the agenda for the next leader.
But that person will not be him.
11.52am BST
11:52
Johnson says the biggest gains in life expectancy have been made in London amongst the poor.
He says the prophets of doom were wrong about Brexit.
He says London and the whole of the UK will flourish outside the EU. It is in the EU’s deal to negotiate a free trade deal, he says, while allowing the UK to take back control of its immigration system.
11.48am BST
11:48
Johnson says the party needs to unite now. He wants the most talented people in the country to come together.
London has been transformed from relative stagnation to a dynamic economy.
He says he brought down crime. Deaths by fire were cut. And road traffic accidents came down to the lowest levels ever.
And, when you think that crime and accidents affect the poorest disproportionately, those are victories for social justice, he says.
He says he managed to build a record number of affordable homes.
And when he left office there were 44,000 sites in the city under construction.
11.46am BST
11:46
Johnson says now is the chance to strike trade deals.
He says some countries have already been in touch.
And our friends in America can be at the front of the queue, he says.
He says he would like to tell people who come here, no matter what their race or religion, they are part of our great British family.
Immigrants should be welcome. And everyone, regardless of their sexuality, can get married. He says marriage equality is one of David Cameron’s finest achievements.
11.44am BST
11:44
Boris Johnson launches his leadership bid
Boris Johnson says people voted to leave the EU last week. It was a cause he passionately supports.
This is our chance, he says. We need to create an economy where everyone benefits from success.
There are too many people who have not seen their wages rise. Or have seen them fall.
FTSE 100 bosses now receive 150 times as much as their workers. It used to be 50 times, he says.
He says he is no communist. But he wants a society where everyone has chance.
Updated
at 11.48am BST
11.39am BST
11:39
Haroon Siddique
Liam Fox set out his case to be the next Tory leader and prime minister on Sky News (quotes from Politics Home). Like everyone else, he tried to portray himself as the unifying candidate.
I think that we’ve just been through quite a traumatic period in our referendum and I think we need to try to heal the divisions on that and I think I can do that having been on the leave side of that equation but having many friends on the other side who were in the remain camp and all through that referendum I urged people to be civil and courteous to one another which I think is the tone we should also adopt, incidentally, in the leadership campaign.
He pointed to his experience outside politics (as a doctor) and his working class background. Fox also said he would not talk about the personalities in the contest “tempting though that is”, describing them all as friends.
I think we’ve just broken free from the EU into a much wider, greater opportunity, one that Britain is very well placed to take advantage of and so it’s with a great sense of optimism that I come into this contest. I know people are saying ‘look at the difficulties of the world around us’ – I think there’s really a new dawn here for this country and we’re particularly well-placed to take advantage of the challenges and the opportunities out there.
He said it was “easier” to have credibility if coming from the leave side but not absolutely necessary and stressed that he would not back any deal with the EU involving keeping free movement of people.
In terms of the EU I think we need to make it very clear that we intend to honour the instruction given to us by the British people last week, we will leave the EU. I don’t believe the British public will accept the concept of free movement in return for full membership of the single market, I think we need a more free trade approach.
Fox reiterated his support for an an Australian-type points system “so that it’s fair and not discriminatory against the non-EU, for example, commonwealth citizens who might want to come here”.
Updated
at 11.40am BST