24 July 2019; DW: Boris Johnson is assuming control of Britain, taking over from Theresa May. The day's proceedings will start with one final Prime Minister's Questions session for Theresa May Follow the latest here.
What you need to know:
- Theresa May will ask Queen Elizabeth II to invite Boris Johnson to form a new government
- The Queen is expected to appoint him during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace
- He will later deliver an agenda-setting speech outside his new Downing Street address
10:46 Johnson is facing vocal criticism for his reported decision to appoint Vote Leave campaign director Dominic Cummings as a senior adviser, despite him being found in contempt of parliament over foreign influence and other transgressions in the Brexit campaign. Among other responses, Conservative MP turned independent, Sarah Wollaston, tweeted: "If true, would be an appalling error of judgement to appoint someone who has been in contempt of Parliament."
10:29 Johnson's imminent appointment has London's stock market somewhat worried, starting the day slightly down. The British pound had fallen to near two-year lows on fears of a hard Brexit, but has firmed up today. Investors will likely be watching Johnson's speech for any indication of Brexit plans.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Germany's influential lobby group the Federation of German Industry has warned Johnson the Brexit withdrawal agreement must not be renegotiated, in comments to DW.
"The United Kingdom used to be the number five trade partner of Germany and last year this fell down to number six and this year also to number seven. So there is no Brexit at all and we can already see the negative impacts."
10:19 Interested in Johnson's ascent to power? DW has you covered: Who is Boris Johnson, Britain's next prime minister?
10:16 Once Johnson moves into Downing Street he will begin appointing his new cabinet. Speculation is rife among British media over who will serve under Johnson. Reuters news agency spoke to someone close to Johnson, who said a record number of ethnic minority politicians will be appointed, and there will be more women.
Former international development secretary and Brexiteer, Priti Patel, as well as Employment Minister Alok Sharma are due for Cabinet seats, according to the source.
Leadership rival and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has reportedly rejected an offer for defense minister, Sky News reports.
Interior minister Sajid Javid is widely tipped retain a top job, perhaps finance minister. Career diplomat David Frost is tipped to become an adviser on Europe, while Dominic Cummings, the Vote Leave campaign director may be appointed a senior adviser.
10:00 Today is the day. Barring an unprecedented veto from Queen Elizabeth II, Boris Johnson will become the new British prime minister. The 55-year-old emerged victorious from the protracted Conservative Party leadership race on Tuesday and should have the keys to 10 Downing Street by nightfall.
He will replace Theresa May, who resigned after failing to win parliamentary support for her hard-fought Brexit deal with the European Union. Johnson has repeatedly said he is willing to crash out of the European Union without any deal if necessary — albeit also saying it's not his intention — as he aims to eke out alterations to the existing accord with Brussels by October 31.
A quick rundown of the day's events, assuming all goes to plan: At about 11 a.m., May will attend her final Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons. Typically, such sessions are often less adversarial and more valedictory affairs, although the fraught nature of May's tenure and the Brexit process could undermine tradition in this case.
Then, after saying farewell to Downing Street staff, May will travel 1 mile (1.6 km) to Buckingham Palace to resign and ask Queen Elizabeth II to invite Johnson to form a new government. The Queen will then meet with Johnson and appoint him prime minister. He will subsequently hold an agenda-setting speech outside 10 Downing Street.
After entering Downing Street, Johnson will start appointing his ministers.
