Former mayor of London and member of the British Conservative party, Boris Johnson, has decided not to contest the party leadership. After successfully leading the campaign to leave the EU in the referendum last week, it was expected that he would be the frontrunner in the race for the top job. He told reporters at a conference this morning that the new leader would have to be able to unify the party.

“Having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in Parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me,” he said.

The race for a new leader was triggered by David Cameron. He announced that he was stepping down from his role as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party last Friday, following the announcement of the vote for the UK to leave the European Union. He said he will stay in the role until October but will leave it to his successor to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which will begin the two-year process of negotiating a trade relationship with the EU.

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