Boris Johnson's PM bid over after he is savaged by Michael Gove and then Theresa May

WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Boris Johnson was sensationally “knifed” by key ally Michael Gove today, ending his bid to become Prime Minister.

In an extraordinary twist, Mr Gove withdrew his support for the former Mayor of London just two hours before they were due to launch his campaign.

Mr Gove then issued a savage statement denouncing Mr Johnson as incapable of becoming a Prime Minister because he lacked the leadership skills required.

Mr Johnson later announced he would not be standing in the race to replace David Cameron, while friends railed against the “treachery” of Mr Gove. “Boris has been stabbed in the back,” said one.

By contrast, Theresa May, the Home Secretary had a flawless launch of her own campaign this morning. She was relaxed and shrugged off her dour image with jokes and jibes at Boris, including his purchase of anti-riot water cannon that she banned from use.

Michael Gove leaves his home after announcing his bid to be Tory leader
Getty

“Last time he did a deal with the Germans, he came back with three nearly new water cannon,” she said, to laughter.

Mrs May stressed that her leadership bid did not require flaky deals or policy compromises. Asked about her position she replied: “My pitch is very simple: I’m Theresa May and I think I’m the best person to lead this country.”

Interactive Tory Timeline: The dramatic events as they unfolded

The Gove bombshell dropped just after 9am today. An astonishing statement concluded: “I have come, reluctantly, to the conclusion that Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead.

“I have, therefore, decided to put my name forward for the leadership. I want there to be an open and positive debate about the path the country will now take.”

Within minutes three of Boris’s leading supporters had switched sides to back Gove.

They included arch moderniser Nicholas Boles, who will chair the Gove campaign, Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, and the highly regarded Esher MP, Dominic Raab, a junior Justice Minister

Friends say Mr Gove only decided late last night to jump off the Boris bandwagon after spending days fretting about the ramshackle nature of the Johnson operation and dithering over decisions.

Theresa May smiles after delivering her speech putting her in the frame as a Tory leadership contender
Getty

A clue to their disagreements came in the section of the Gove statement talking about the post-referendum Brexit negotiations, a crucial argument. “If we are to make the most of the opportunities ahead we need a bold break with the past,” wrote Gove.

The Justice Secretary was dismayed on Monday when Mr Johnson suggested in his weekly column that he might seek to stay in the EU single market, which would prevent a points system to control immigration.

To make matters worse, Mr Gove was told that this had been a “slip” because Mr Johnson was “tired” when he wrote it.

“He drew the conclusion over the week that Boris was not up to the job of being Prime Minister,” said an ally of Gove.

The spectacular Gove-Johnson fall-out ended a partnership that helped changed the course of British history by leading the effort that persuaded 17 million Britons to vote to withdraw from the European Union.

The first public clue to the tensions between them came with the accidental leak of an email from Mr Gove’s wife, columnist Sarah Vine, in which she urged him to seek “specific” assurances in return for his support, implying that Boris could not be trusted to keep his word unless it was nailed down.

In reality Gove and Johnson were always the odd couple, whose friendship had been marred by rivalry and occasional feuding.

Mr Gove was once caught briefing media tycoon Rupert Murdoch that Boris was not up to the task of being PM, urging support for George Osborne instead. Weeks later they were seen red-faced and enjoying themselves on the town after dinner.

The pair transformed the Vote Leave campaign, by combining Mr Johnson’s colourful showmanship with Gove’s steely intellectual rigour. Many MPs thought they could do the same for the Tory leadership.

The blow to Mr Johnson’s hopes looked lethal in the eyes of many Tory MPs.

“He cannot come back from this,” said one. "You cannot claim to be able to unite the country if you cannot unite your best friends.”

It came on the back of other major blows to Team Boris this week, including evidence that his appeal to voters in London had been badly damaged by his Brexit crusade.

One London Tory said: “I have had literally scores of emails saying Boris let London down by campaigning for Leave. His brand is tarnished.” Two other senior London MPs made similar comments to the Standard.

In addition there were complaints about the way Mr Johnson was campaigning behind closed doors at Westminster.

He pulled out of a hustings in front of 50 wavering MPs yesterday and MPs lured to talks in his office said they were surprised to find other MPs in the waiting room.

“You don’t want to see or be seen,” complained one. “It was not very well done.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in