Speaking to broadcasters for the first time since resigning last week, Mr Johnson said he would continue to “oversee the process” before a new Tory leader is elected in the coming weeks. “I’m determined to take on and deliver the mandate we’ve been given, but my job is really to oversee the process over the next few weeks and I’m sure the outcome will be good,” he said during a visit to the Francis Crick Institute in London. Politics Hub: Likely timeline for leadership race becomes clearer – live updates “We just have to keep going and, as I said, I think before, the more we focus on the people, the people who elect us, their jobs, their hopes and what they can get out of investing in science and technology. . “The more we talk about the future we’re trying to build, the less we talk about politics in Westminster, the happier we’ll all be overall.” Asked repeatedly who he would back in the Tory leadership race, Mr Johnson said: “I wouldn’t want to hurt the leadership candidates’ chances by giving me my support.” Last Thursday, Mr Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister after less than three years in Number 10, saying: “Nobody in politics is absolutely necessary.” Speaking from Downing Street, he thanked the millions of people who voted Conservative at the last election and said the reason he fought so hard to stay in power was because “I thought it was my job, my duty and my obligation to you”. He also said he had tried to convince his cabinet that it would be “wacky” to change prime minister now, but added: “I regret that I have not been successful in these arguments. “At Westminster, the herd instinct is strong and when the herd moves, it moves.” Asked on Monday about the allegation that his MPs who resigned from government roles succumbed to a “herd mentality”, Mr Johnson declined to comment further. “I don’t want to say more about all that,” he said. “There’s a competition going on and it happened and, you know, I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s chances by offering me my support. “I just have to carry on and, in the last days or weeks of the job, the prime minister’s constitutional function in this situation is to carry out the mandate, to continue to carry out the mandate, and that’s what I’m doing. A Number 10 source said last week that the Prime Minister spoke to the 1922 Conservative Committee chairman, Sir Graham Brady, before his resignation and agreed to appoint a new Tory leader by the party conference in October. But several of his MPs want him out immediately, saying that after so many resignations from his government, he does not have the power to lead. Former Conservative Prime Minister John Major wrote to Sir Graham last week saying that allowing Johnson to stay in his post for three months would be “abnormal and perhaps unsustainable”. Meanwhile, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has also threatened to call for a vote of no confidence in the Commons, backed by other opposition parties, if Tory MPs cannot oust him immediately. Read more: The first to be the next PMT questions after Johnson quits Over the weekend, rumors swirled that Johnson could stand himself in the upcoming Conservative leadership race. However, this would be contrary to Conservative Party election rules which state: “A leader who resigns is ineligible to contest the next leadership election.” A Number 10 source told Sky News that Mr Johnson would not attempt to enter any leadership contest and that the claim he would do so was “untrue”. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 23:42 Conservative leadership candidate Nadhim Zahawi gives his first post-broadcast interview since becoming chancellor. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has officially entered the Tory leadership race, with Home Secretary Priti Patel announcing her candidacy. A surprise entry was also made by Foreign Minister Rehman Chishti, meaning 11 Conservatives are now vying to replace Mr Johnson as prime minister. Former chancellor Mr Sunak currently has the largest number of supporters, with trade secretary Penny Mordaunt also proving popular. Later today, party elders on the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs will decide the rules under which the leadership contest will be run. Meanwhile, Bob Blackman, executive secretary of the 1922 Commission, told Sky News more about the leadership selection process on Monday. Mr Blackman said the Conservative Party leadership candidates would be narrowed down to a final two by next Thursday and that the threshold of support to enter the race was likely to be 20. “We’ve got to get the shortlist down to two very quickly – and the only thing we’ve committed to doing is to get down to two candidates by Thursday July 21,” he told Sky News. “That means we will be holding a rolling vote over the next few days to get to that position.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:23 Business Secretary Penny Mordaunt has announced she is in the running to become the next leader of the Conservative Party. The polls are likely to be held this Wednesday and Thursday and next Tuesday and Wednesday, he said. Elsewhere, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer criticized the “weapons of fantasy finance” in the Tory leadership election as he criticized candidates’ attempts to “wash away” the party’s integrity. Answering questions from reporters during a speech in Gateshead, he said: “We’ve had this circus in the last few days, £200bn of uncosted spending commitments. “Every single Tory candidate who makes wild spending pledges should tell us exactly where they are getting that money from. “Are they cutting, if so, what are they cutting? If they are borrowing, tell us how much they are borrowing? Or is it the magic money tree they suddenly discovered having arrived back here under the moon, where I’ve been for the last 12 years.”
