Boris Johnson Ends Bid to Replace Liz Truss: 'Not the Right Time'

Ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday that he was ending his bid to return to his former post after Liz Truss resigned as the United Kingdom's prime minister on Thursday.

Johnson had been mulling a return to the position, and on Saturday, flew home from a holiday in the Caribbean to potentially launch a bid to lead the U.K.'s Conservative Party once again.

In a statement, Johnson said that while he had received the necessary number of nominations from Tory members of parliament (MPs) to seek the office, he decided it "would simply not be the right thing to do."

Penny Mordaunt, the country's former defense secretary, has since announced her intention to run for the position. Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor who Truss beat to become prime minister in September, is also seeking the role again.

"You can't govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament. And though I have reached out to both Rishi and Penny—because I hoped that we could come together in the national interest—we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this," Johnson said in his statement, according to Politico Europe.

"Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds," Johnson added. "I believe I have much to offer, but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time."

Newsweek has reached out to Johnson's press office for comment.

Johnson resigned as prime minister in July following allegations of sexual misconduct against Chris Pincher, a Conservative member of parliament who served as the party's deputy chief whip.

Pincher resigned in late June amid allegations that he had groped two men, but it later emerged that in 2019, Johnson had been made aware of the allegations. Johnson said it "was the wrong thing to do" to appoint Pincher as deputy chief whip and that he regretted not preventing the appointment. More than 50 members of Johnson's government, including senior figures and key allies, resigned within a 48 hour span.

After being appointed prime minister in September, Truss stepped down after only six weeks in office, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in the nation's history. Truss' resignation came after she was roundly criticized over a budget proposal that included unfunded tax cuts. Her administration's financial proposals led to turmoil in financial markets, and caused the value of the pound to drop.

With Johnson out of the race, it appears Sunak is the favorite in the race for prime minister. According to the BBC, Sunak currently has backing from 153 MPs while Mordaunt has the support of 25.

In a statement on Sunday that was released before Johnson dropped out of the race, Sunak said: "The United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis. That's why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country."

Update 10/23/2022, 5:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include additional information.