Boris Johnson will announce his resignation as British prime minister on Thursday after he was abandoned by ministers and his Conservative Party's lawmakers who said he was no longer fit to govern.

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 he was stepping down later on Thursday, a source said. His Downing Street office confirmed that Johnson would make a statement to the country later.

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The Iraqi-origin minister, Nadhim Zahawi, who is seen as a frontrunner to replace Johnson, wrote a damning letter which openly questioned Johnson's authority and demanded his resignation.

"Prime Minister, you know in your heart what the right thing to do is, and go now," he signs off. He further said that "not sustainable and will only get worse". He further appealed to PM Johnson to leave with dignity.

Earlier, Education Secretary Michelle Donelan had quit saying that Mr Johnson had "put us in an impossible situation", BBC reported.

With Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis became the first cabinet member of the day on Thursday, followed by seven other ministers. This wave of resignations from the government and party exceeded 50 since Tuesday. The 50th resignation came from George Freeman, a junior minister for science, research and innovation at around 7.20 am London time on Thursday morning.

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In a surprise move, his loyal supporters including Priti Patel and Grant Shapps also urged him to step down on Wednesday.

Johnson's name has been frequently emerging in a string of scandals and allegations of misleading the common public. But the final straw for many MPs involves the appointment of Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher as the deputy chief whip of the party.

The former deputy chief whip was suspended last week amid accusations that he drunkenly groped two men at a private members club and Johnson was therefore accused of appointing him despite knowing of an investigation into his behaviour in 2019.

First Published:Jul 7, 2022 3:12 PM IST