Boris Johnson named British PM

Boris Johnson has been selected as leader of Britain’s governing Conservative Party and the next prime minister, tasked with following through on his pledge to deliver Brexit by October 31st.

Voting among the Tories 159,000 eligible members closed at 5pm on Monday and the declaration of the result marks the finale of a month-long battle between Mr Johnson and Jeremy Hunt.

Boris Johnson received 92,153 votes while Jeremy Hunt 46,656.

It has been Johnson's pledge to leave the EU by Halloween "do or die" that has given him the edge over Mr Hunt.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said prior to the vote that he will resign if Johnson becomes PM.

Former PM Tony Blair warned that Johnson will backtrack on his calls to take the UK out of the EU without an agreement.

"I say to all the doubters: Dude, we are going to energise the country, we are going to get #Brexit done"

New Tory leader Boris Johnson says as PM he will bring "a new spirit of can-do" to the country#NextPrimeMinister updates: https://t.co/BOPyRfVXUI pic.twitter.com/kZVQo4ruea

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 23, 2019