London - Boris Johnson resigned as Conservative leader today, will remain as prime minister in a caretaker capacity until the Conservative party has elected a new leader, a newly appointed member of the cabinet says.

A timetable for succession is set to be announced by the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs next week. But many Conservative figures, including former Prime Minister Sir John Major, have said Johnson should go sooner.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has warned that if Mr Johnson does not step down immediately, his party would table a vote of no confidence in the government in Parliament.

In a meeting with his new cabinet members, Johnson said "major fiscal decisions" would be left for the next prime minister and the government "would not seek to implement new policies".

Transport secretary Grant Shapps and former health secretary Sajid Javid are considering running in the Conservative leadership contest, while Attorney General Suella Braverman says she will put her name forward.

Conservative MP Robert Buckland says "the views of colleagues" will have pushed Boris Johnson to resign today, adding "he has bowed to the inevitable".

He says Johnson managed to "break the logjam on Brexit".

But he says he now hopes the Conservative Party can "get back to values" such as "freedom under the law".

After a record number of resignations in 24 hours, the pressure on Boris Johnson ramped up even further this morning.

With eight ministers, including two secretaries of state, resigning in the last two hours, an isolated and powerless Johnson was set to bow to the inevitable and declare his was stepping down later, media reports said.

It was not immediately clear whether Johnson would stay in office while the Conservative Party chooses a new leader, who will replace him as prime minister.
-Ap/BBC