Political scientist Prof Sir John Curtice tells us that the public have already made up their own minds about whether Boris Johnson was telling the truth over Partygate.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The most striking thing this morning is how few Conservatives are willing to talk publicly about what is going on.

But believe me. They are all talking about it privately, trying to work out what might happen next.

It is worth spelling out what might seem obvious, but is worth emphasising.

Boris Johnson concluded the Privileges Committee report would trigger a process that would lead to a by-election in his marginal constituency – leaving Johnson transparently on the defensive and not in control of events.

And so, instead, he has grabbed the agency here – even if from a position of weakness – to drive events on his own terms and timescale.

So where, the morning after the night before, does this leave the Conservative Party?

One senior figure told me: “We have been living with the half-life of Johnson for nearly a year now. He can do damage, of course, but there is no constructive future for him and it is goodbye – to power if not yet to influence.”

It is why when people ask ‘is this the end for Boris Johnson?’ it is worth reflecting on what they mean by ‘end.’

It may well be the end of the road for him in Parliament – although that is not certain.

It is certainly not the end of the road for him in terms of his influence.

One other thing I am hearing – I am told it is likely the Privileges Committee will publish its report on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Its members will meet on Monday. They have promised to publish their report ‘promptly.’

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

We also haven’t heard much from Boris Johnson’s friends and family yet.

The BBC has been approaching them to get their views, but so far no-one’s really speaking.

However, there has been support expressed for him from colleagues on social media.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

We've had lots of statements but not many of the main players in this have been on the airwaves themselves yet.

Why not?

The Privileges Committee process is a formal one and anyone breaking it or leaking what's in the report could risk being found in contempt of Parliament themselves.

So we're unlikely to hear from the Committee members themselves until after the report has been published.

We're also not likely to hear from Rishi Sunak on this imminently either.

Downing Street is unlikely to want to get drawn into commenting on the sort of rows he's tried hard to move on from.

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Research company YouGov has done a snap poll in the UK to see what people think of Boris Johnson's resignation.

According to the results, 62% think that it was right for him to resign while 65% think he knowingly misled Parliament on Partygate - 72% believe that Johnson has likely committed further COVID offences.

Amongst Conservative party voters , 46% say that it was right for Boris Johnson to resign while 33% of them say it wasn't.

Almost half of Tory voters - 49% - think he knowingly misled Parliament while 32% think he didn't, and 59% of Tory voters think he likely committed further Covid offences.

From being elected in Henley in 2001 to last night's resignation, here's a quick look back at Boris Johnson's time in politics.

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If you are just joining us, it's been a busy morning! Here's what you need to know to bring you up to speed:

• Last night former prime minister Boris Johnson announced he was stepping down as an MP, claiming he was "forced out of Parliament" over Partygate, having seen in advance a report by a committee of MPs over whether he misled the Commons.
• In an explosive resignation statement he called the committee a "kangaroo court" whose purpose "has been to find me guilty".
• All of Saturday's newspapers headline on the "resignation bombshell"
• Appearing on the BBC this morning, two Labour MPs have called Johnson a "coward". Angela Rayner says the ex-PM "doesn't accept responsibility for his own actions", while Chris Bryant, the chair of the Privileges Committee, says the ex-PM has "run for the hills".
• Johnson's chief advisor when he was foreign secretary says that by “going, as he has, all guns blazing. He is able to avoid defeat and blame pretty much everyone else. He is preparing himself for what might be next without the humiliation of being kicked out.”
• In the wake of Johnson's exit, his allies closed ranks around him, with former home secretary Priti Patel calling him a "political titan", while staunch Brexiteer John Redwood said it was "very worrying that such an important figure in the UK's political life felt hounded out like this".

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Conservative MP Sir John Redwood expressed his sadness over Boris Johnson's resignation last night.

Speaking to Radio 4’s The World Tonight programme, Redwood said that he thought it was "very worrying that such an important figure in the UK's political life felt hounded out like this”.

When asked if he thought if the resignation was an act of cowardice by Johnson, Redwood replied: “He has made it very clear that he doesn’t regard this as the end of his involvement in British politics.

“I can understand why he has made this decision as he has been uniquely pressurised ever since he first became leader.”

Alex Binley
Live reporter

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Back in 2019, Boris Johnson led the Tories to a landslide general election, winning an 80-seat majority, their biggest in more than 30 years.

Fast-forward three-and-a-half years and while the Conservatives still enjoy a large majority in the Commons, it has been dented.

Since the last election, the Tories have lost 11 seats in total (they lost 12 but gained one) due to a mix of by-elections, MPs having the whip suspended or those defecting to other parties.

The surprise exits of Johnson and his long-time ally Nadine Dorries on Friday trigger by-elections, meaning the Tories stand to lose another two if they aren't successful.

According to the House of Commons website, external, which has not been updated since Johnson and Dorries' resignations, the Conservatives have a current working majority in the Commons of 64.

This takes into account the non-voting Speaker and their deputies, and non-sitting Sinn Féin MPs.

Johnson and Dorries' exits would bring this number down to 60 (the Conservatives would lose two seats and their opponents would gain two), but could increase back to 64 if the Tories win the by-elections caused by the exits.

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Last night, Priti Patel tweeted, external her support for Boris Johnson after he resigned.

The former home secretary said Johnson "served our country and his constituency with distinction".

"Boris is a political titan whose legacy will stand the test of time."

Patel was made a dame commander in Johnson's resignation honours list.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us - or giving yourself a recap on Boris Johnson's resignation as an MP last night - you can read his full resignation statement here.

Will Walden, Johnson’s chief advisor when he was foreign secretary, answers this question on Radio 4’s Today programme:

“I don’t think it’s the end. This is typical Boris, there is only one thing driving him and it's that he likes to win, or at least not to lose.”

Walden says that Johnson hasn’t lost an election in 26 years and the committee report clearly threatens to change that.

“He has been trying, for a year or so, to protect his version of the narrative,” says Walden, before adding that it’s not a surprise, since Johnson had previously said that he wouldn’t respect the outcome if the committee found him guilty.

“So by going, as he has, all guns blazing. He is able to avoid defeat and blame pretty much everyone else. He is preparing himself for what might be next without the humiliation of being kicked out.”

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Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner accuses Boris Johnson of being "a coward who doesn’t accept responsibility for his own actions".

"When the public needed him the most he was basically partying, at a time when no one could see their loved ones. That’s unforgivable," she told the Today programme.

Rayner says that if Johnson believed in public duty, he would have resigned without putting the country through a circus.

"That statement last night was utterly disgraceful. It shouldn’t have come to this," she adds.

Boris Johnson's late night announcement that he was quitting as an MP with immediate effect ensured that he was "shaping the narrative, he was creating the headlines, he was the agent of change", says BBC political editor Chris Mason.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Mason attempts to answer the question on everyone's lips; is it over for the ex-PM?

Mason says that having spoken to high profile Tories and "those at the centre of this drama" many are "just as clueless as the rest of us".

It "depends on what you mean by 'over'", says Mason.

"His political career for now is over. But over in terms of influence? Not a bit of it."

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Lord Norman Fowler, former Lord Speaker, says that what is going on in Conservative Party "is an extraordinary mess".

"It’s a disaster, if Boris continues the way he appears to be continuing, my advice to my old party would be they want to come off it.

"If they go on that particular route, is going to be disaster to conservative party.", he told Radio 4’s Today programme earlier.

The Liberal Democrats and Labour are currently not in talks and there are "no pacts and no deals" over fielding candidates in the former seats of Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries, which are now up for grabs, the Lib Dem leader says.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast earlier, Sir Ed Davey said his party will stand candidates in both constituencies after the former PM and his staunch ally both unexpectedly quit as MPs on Friday.

It comes amid speculation that the two parties could form a coalition if no party wins a majority at the next general election, with neither Davey or Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer ruling such a move out when asked last month.

Unsurprisingly, one story dominates the morning’s front pages.

Click here to see how Johnson's resignation is being covered.

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Boris Johnson is a "coward" who has "run for the hills", the Labour chairman of the Privileges Committee, tells BBC Breakfast.

Sir Chris Bryant - who stood back from the committee last year having publicly criticised Johnson - said the ex-PM should have done the "decent and honourable" thing and waited for the report investigating if he misled the Commons over Downing Street lockdown parties to be published before reacting to it.

"Boris Johnson has yet again not played by the rules," Bryant says.

Bryant said Johnson had resigned as an MP with immediate effect as he "doesn't want to face the electorate in his constituency, he doesn't want to face the Commons".

Had Johnson remained as an MP and the report recommended a suspension from the Commons, he could potentially have faced a by-election in his constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme , political editor of The Spectator Katy Balls says that Boris Johnson gives signals of a return in his resignation letter:

"He says he is very sad to be leaving Parliament, but then adds ‘at least for now’ which opens a possibility to a return and a safer seat", she says.

Balls has been speaking to the people close to Johnson as well as senior Tory officials, and she says that they are not sure of Johnson's next steps. But the consensus is more likely he will wait a bit longer and will try to come back.

"This is a sign of Boris Johnson’s impact. Even if he is out of Parliament, he will cast a shadow on Rishi Sunak."

It was more than two decades ago when Boris Johnson was first elected as an MP - in the constituency of Henley back in 2001.

He had a break from Parliament between 2008 and 2015 - when he was mayor of London - but then returned as an MP in the seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in London in 2015.

Here's a look back at his journey since then.

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