Boris Johnson confirms he will run to be the next Tory leader, as Theresa May promises to go 'in weeks'

Boris Johnson has confirmed that he will run to be the next leader of the Conservative Party once Theresa May stands down.

The Prime Minister told backbenchers she will finalise the timetable for her departure from Number 10 once MPs have voted on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at the beginning of June.

Controversial Brexiteer 'BoJo' has been touted among the favourites to take over from the Prime Minister, who he has been a staunch critic of since resigning as Foreign Secretary nearly a year ago.

Rebel Tory MPs, including Johnson, have refused to gather behind her agreement, citing the unacceptability of the backstop arrangement – which would keep the UK tied to a customs union with the EU until an alternative solution on keeping an open border in Ireland is found.

May has confirmed the vote in June will be on the agreement, which has already been defeated by MPs three times. 

Last month, a Conservative Home poll of Tory members on their preferred successor to May showed Johnson had an eighteen-point lead over his nearest rival, the former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab.

International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey have also announced that they will mount challenges for the top job.

Raab is also expected to run, while Cabinet ministers including Michael Gove, Amber Rudd, Sajid Javid, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss are tipped to put forward bids.

Downing Street confirmed yesterday that MPs will vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at the beginning of June, in what could be May's last chance to get her deal through.

The PM has been in talks with Jeremy Corbyn since the beginning of last month in a bid to find a compromise agreement, however hopes of a breakthrough appear to be fading.

The former Foreign Secretary has made a number of highly controversial comments, including calling women who wear Burkas "letter boxes" and "bank robbers", as well as suggesting investigations into historic child abuse were a waste of money.