Johnson congratulates Sunak, urges party to give him ‘full support’

Boris Johnson has congratulated new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and urged fellow British Conservatives to give him “their full and wholehearted support.”

The former PM’s words came after he dropped out of the Tory leadership race claiming he had the nominations needed to make it on to the ballot paper but admitting he could not unite the party.

His withdrawal meant the leadership contest ended on Monday, paving the way for Sunak to become head of the party and therefore prime minister.

Shortly after Sunak’s first speech as prime minister on Tuesday, Johnson tweeted: “Congratulations to Rishi Sunak on this historic day, this is the moment for every Conservative to give our new PM their full and wholehearted support.”

The former premier offered his congratulations a day later than messages from outgoing prime minister Liz Truss and Sunak’s fellow leadership hopeful, Penny Mordaunt, a British politician who has served as Leader of the House of Commons said.

In a statement on Sunday evening, Johnson said there was a “very good chance” he could have been back in No 10 by the end of the week if he had stood.

However, his efforts to “reach out” to his rivals Sunak and Mordaunt to work together in the national interest had not been successful so he was dropping out.