borisjohnson is no longer conservative leader, but he wants to stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen. ina in a statement that made no mention of his_ in a statement that made no mention of his recent — in a statement that made no mention of his recent difficulties, _ in a statement that made no mention of his recent difficulties, for- of his recent difficulties, withdrawing their support. as we have seen at westminster, the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves — and, my friends, in politics no—one is remotely indispensable.

he expressed regret that his premiership is ending much earlier than he hoped. i premiership is ending much earlier than he med-— premiership is ending much earlier than he honed-— than he hoped. i want you to know how sad i am _ than he hoped. i want you to know how sad i am giving _ than he hoped. i want you to know how sad i am giving up _ than he hoped. i want you to know how sad i am giving up the - than he hoped. i want you to know how sad i am giving up the best i than he hoped. i want you to know| how sad i am giving up the best job how sad i am giving up the bestjob in the world about them's the breaks. in recent days, no fewer than 58 conservative mps had left the government, from senior tojunior levels, raising doubts about the government's ability to function. as westminster took in the news, labour said mrjohnson's intention to stay on as prime minister over the summer was not acceptable. it's obvious he's unfit to be prime minister. that's been blindingly obvious for a very, very long time. and if they don't get rid of him, then labour will step up in the national interest and bring a vote of no confidence. an argument has raged all day about how long borisjohnson can stay in downing street and tonight he is promising that any big decisions will be left to the next prime minister. ~ ., ., ,

will be left to the next prime minister. a, ., , ., minister. more from chris in a moment and _ minister. more from chris in a moment and we _ minister. more from chris in a moment and we will- minister. more from chris in a moment and we will be - minister. more from chris in a| moment and we will be asking minister. more from chris in a i moment and we will be asking if minister. more from chris in a - moment and we will be asking if mr johnson is now going to come under increasing pressure to move out of number ten as soon as possible. also on the programme: vladimir putin dares the west to have a go at defeating russia on the battlefield. and an injured nadal pulls out of wimbledon. stay with us on bbc news for continued analysis from our correspondents in the uk and around the world. welcome to bbc news at ten. borisjohnson is no longer leader of the conservative party, but he's still prime minister and he intends to stay in charge until

a successor is chosen. mrjohnson, who announced his departure, delivered a statement outside number ten downing street in which he blamed the "herd instinct" of conservative mps forforcing him out. many of his colleagues, along with opposition parties, are deeply unhappy with his plans to stay on as prime minister over the summer, and they've called on him to go immediately. but mrjohnson has gone ahead and filled vacant posts in his cabinet, appointing six new members. greg clark has become the new levelling—up secretary, james cleverly�*s gone to education, robert buckland has become the new welsh secretary, shailesh vara to the northern ireland office, kit malthouse has been appointed to the cabinet office, and andrew stephenson is an additional minister

attending cabinet. he is called a minister without portfolio. the final unravelling of mrjohnson's leadership happened in the past few days, with the resignations of sajid javid and rishi sunak, followed by a further 56 departures from different levels of government. tonight, we'll be asking how realistic it is for the prime minister to stay on for another three months, and we'll be looking at the likely candidates to succeed him. but first, let's join our political editor chris mason in downing street. this time last night we were in conversation in downing street reflecting on the brutal exercise of prime ministerial power from reflecting on the brutal exercise of prime ministerial powerfrom boris johnson, with the sacking of a senior cabinet minister. there was a swaggerfrom downing street and senior cabinet minister. there was a swagger from downing street and a determination and a defiance to carry on. how things change. this

morning there was a stony silence and i was calling people in this building from around half past six this morning, not a single call or text message was replied to, until around nine o'clock. why? because borisjohnson and his advisers were contemplating his future and shortly after nine o'clock we learned he was leaving. at breakfast time, there was talk of a constitutional crisis, a prime minister who wouldn't budge, and more and more ministers resigning. butjust after nine o'clock, news borisjohnson would resign today. this, the most powerful street in the country, suddenly packed. those arriving for work here capturing the moment, too. at lunchtime, a lectern. those normally inside, outside — an audience awaits. and then a moment at once personal,

political, and constitutional. hi, everybody. applause it is clearly now the will of the parliamentary conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister. so, i want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019, many of them voting conservative for the first time, thank you for that incredible mandate. and the reason i have fought so hard in the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was notjust because i wanted to do so, but because i felt it was myjob, my duty, my obligation to you, to continue to do what we promised in 2019. he fought hard and lost, his cabinet and his party abandoning him, but listen still to his defiance. in the last few days i've tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change

governments when we're delivering so much. this was boris johnson forced to articulate that his imagined future here was being crushed. the boy who dreamed of being world king, ejected. as we've seen at westminster, the herd instinct is powerful, and when the herd moves, it moves. and my friends, in politics, no—one is remotely indispensable. i know that there will be many people who are relieved, and, perhaps, quite a few who will also be disappointed. and i want you to know how sad i am to be giving up the bestjob in the world. but them's the breaks. that's life, mrjohnson acknowledging, a painful personal moment, a splash of history unfolding, too. being prime minister is an education in itself.

i've travelled to every part of the united kingdom, and in addition to the beauty of our natural world, i've found so many people possessed of such boundless british originality, and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways, that i know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden. thank you all very much. what a moment. a man who won a big majority at a general election just 2.5 years ago is going, humiliated by his party, the borisjohnson era will soon be over. liar! few are indifferent to borisjohnson. a primary colours prime minister provoking colourful reactions to the near end. a great man brought down, that is all i can say at the moment, thank you. the country will rue this day.

they will regret it - like they did with thatcher. this will be a mistake. but plenty of others within the conservative party and beyond think borisjohnson should be standing down as prime minister pretty much immediately, and notjust as conservative leader. the former prime minister sirjohn major is among them. in a letter, he wrote... sirjohn suggested that the deputy prime minister could take over for a bit, or a caretaker prime minister could be drafted in. or a caretaker prime minister would theresa may fancy it? or a caretaker prime minister she laughs or a caretaker prime minister look, i don't think... or a caretaker prime minister from everything i hear, i don't think there is going to be a caretaker prime minister in the sense of somebody else coming in to do that role.

and what does an opposition party leader do on a day like this? one option is to smile and go and watch some tennis at wimbledon, having said this about borisjohnson... he needs to go completely, none of this nonsense about clinging on for a few months. he's inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country, and you know, we're stuck with a government which isn't functioning. there will be an overwhelming - and very widespread sense of relief | today that boris johnson's time | as prime minister, which should probably never have been allowed to happen in the first place, - is coming to an end. the problem is the conservative party and mps have stood by him for so long, they propped him up, they enabled him to fail to lead our country properly, and my heart goes out to the millions of families and pensioners who have not been helped properly because his government has been so incompetent. attention now turns to those who aspire to come next

in downing street, a fourth prime minister in a little over six years. are you going to make a bid for the leadership, sir? - there's the former chancellor. foreign secretary liz truss is likely to be in the picture. and perhaps the former cabinet ministerjeremy hunt, too. among others. a beauty pageant to lead the country is onlyjust beginning. and after the intrigue and anguish, plotting and resignations, a leader departs, soon—ish. let's go to our political editor chris mason. can we talk about the manner of boris johnson's can we talk about the manner of borisjohnson's departure, when it happened, and this row about whether he should be staying on as prime ministerfor a few more he should be staying on as prime minister for a few more months? he should be staying on as prime ministerfor a few more months? what minister for a few more months? what was strikin: minister for a few more months? what was striking i — minister for a few more months? iwisgt was striking i thought minister for a few more months? wiat was striking i thought in the immediate hours after the news that borisjohnson was going to resign was the angerfrom borisjohnson was going to resign was the anger from quite a few conservative mps when they learned

he would stick on for a few months whilst there was the leadership race and that anger intensified because they felt there wasn't exactly mere copper from they felt there wasn't exactly mere copperfrom borisjohnson in they felt there wasn't exactly mere copper from borisjohnson in that copperfrom borisjohnson in that resignation speech but copper from borisjohnson in that resignation speech but the copperfrom borisjohnson in that resignation speech but the mechanism for dislodging a prime minister as opposed to a conservative leader are actually pretty limited. there is a nuclear option which would be a vote of confidence in the whole government but if conservative mps were to endorse that, they would bring forward a general election and given that they currently don't have a party leader, and their opinion poll ratings are not great from their perspective, that might not be that tempting option. the other thing that is a movable feast this summer is just how long the conservative leadership race lasts. the predictions on that range from about three months to three weeks. chris, thank you. we will talk about possible successors later on.

borisjohnson's premiership has been marked by controversy since he entered number ten, but his confused handling of allegations of sexual misconduct involving the former minister chris pincher, was the final straw for many of his colleagues. and that seemed to crystallize many of the questions about trust and integrity which have haunted mrjohnson during his time in office, as vicki young explains. i want to talk to the crowd. riding high and doing what he did best, borisjohnson on the campaign trail, persuading millions to back brexit. crowd cheers many credit, or blame, him for the victory that followed. the pasty of independence! he was a leading contender to replace david cameron when he resigned after the referendum, but a close ally decided to publicly voice concerns about mrjohnson's flaws. i realised that while boris does have those very special abilities

to communicate and to reach out, what he did not have was the capacity to build and to lead that team and to provide the leadership the country needs at this critical moment. it was an early warning from someone who knew him well. he abandoned his campaign, leaving loyal supporters distraught. but his ambitions weren't thwarted for long. theresa may's brexit plans hit the buffers and tory mps saw him as the man to get it done. he entered downing street with a team willing to ignore the usual conventions of politics. at the time, many mps were determined to stop the uk leaving the eu without a deal. mrjohnson asked the queen to suspend parliament, a move deemed unlawful in the supreme court, and kicked more than 20 tory mps out of the party. david gauke was one of them. he was prepared to adopt tactics that other prime ministers would not have adopted,

prepared to use language that other prime ministers would not have been prepared to adopt. basically, because he felt that the rules didn't apply to him. the problem is that the approach that he took over brexit is also the approach that he has taken over other matters, personal as well as policy. to break the deadlock, an election was called and the conservatives won their biggest majority in more than 30 years. for his new government, though, everything was put on hold when it was hit by the worst health crisis in modern times. from this evening, i must give the british people a very simple instruction. you must stay at home. the prime minister himself became seriously ill with covid. i still have a temperature... he was admitted to intensive care and spent three days in hospital. a key ally throughout this time was dominic cummings. his unconventional style aggravated many. sorry i'm late. and within a year of the election victory, he had resigned after a bitter power struggle, clashing with tory mps and the prime minister's wife.

he soon went on the attack, becoming mrjohnson's fiercest and most damaging critic. he doesn't have plan, he doesn't know how to be prime minister, and we only got him in there because we had to solve a certain problem, not because we thought that he was the right person to be running the country. mrjohnson was criticised by his ethics adviser over the complicated funding of a lavish flat refurbishment. he infuriated colleagues by trying to water down standards on public life to help a colleague, only to u—turn later. what have you done to this place? a heavy by—election defeat to the liberal democrats was the first sign that voters weren't impressed. fundamentally, boris came to downing street without a ideology, without a strategy and without a plan, then chose the wrong strategists around him, and i think that every time he got busted, rather than owning up to it, he did the usual boris thing, which is to say, i'm not going to apologise or change,

we're going to ride it out, and he was tied down by his own character and, in the end, he proved quite inflexible. last year, stories started leaking out about rule—breaking parties in number ten while the rest of the country was in lockdown. after a police investigation, mrjohnson was fined for a birthday celebration in the cabinet room. altogether, over 120 fines were issued to staff. a report by a senior civil servant blamed a failure of leadership and mrjohnson was accused of lying about what went on. the final straw was a chaotic response to allegations of sexual misconduct against the deputy chief whip, chris pincher. mrjohnson was again accused of not being up front about what he knew. for some, though, there is a legacy to be proud of. i think we do need to recognise that he delivered on his promise to get brexit done and he got us through the pandemic with the most successful vaccination programme in europe, so there is much

to be positive about. for many of mrjohnson's colleagues, though, his downfall is not a surprise. vicki young, bbc news. so, as vicky was explaining, all of that has led to this conservative leadership contest. chris mason said a short while ago that estimates of the length of time this will take vary from three months, i think he said, down to three weeks. well, three weeks might be rather ambitious when we think of the process involved. because the timetable, the essential timetable, would be set on monday by the leadership of the 1922 committee, which is the committee of backbench mps. they run this process, and once that has been set, the rules change, and the rules state that eight mps need to nominate. they need to

nominate one candidate. you need eight mps behind you to get onto the ballot paper. then a series of votes among the mps will take place, whittling them all down to candidates on a final piece of paper withjust candidates on a final piece of paper with just two macro names on candidates on a final piece of paper withjust two macro names on it, and then those two names will go forward to the party members, all of the conservative party members, around 200,000 of them, who will now choose the new leader. given the numbers involved and what the process involved, you can imagine that three weeks would be an incredibly difficult thing to achieve, if all of those stages are to be gone through, and indeed, we already have people being talked about as potential candidates, quite a few of them already being talked about today, as my colleague ben wright tells us now. at cabinet on tuesday borisjohnson was circled by possible successors. some have been campaigning quietly for months, eyeing up the topjob, waiting for the gun to be fired.

you could be hearing a lot from these names over the summer. the next prime minister will be picked by the tory party and it's likely to be a crowded field, with no obvious frontrunner. so who might enter the race? well, there's rishi sunak, chancellor of the exchequer until he quit on tuesday. he is believed to be putting a leadership team together but some tory mps are cross he didn't cut taxes. sajid javid has stood for leader before and was the first cabinet minister to resign this week. the foreign secretary liz truss has never hidden her intentions. she voted remain in 2016 but has been a fierce defender of brexit ever since. the grassroots seem to like her. penny mordaunt is a royal navy reservist and defence secretary under theresa may, now widely thought to be gunning for the topjob. and there's nadhim zahawi, appointed chancellor this week and ambitious — as they all are. the government's top legal officer suella braverman has already

put her hat in the ring and was gently teased about it by labour... and can i say what an honour it is to be at this dispatch box facing the next prime minister, as she awaits her call from the palace. the list goes on — there's a lot of chat about ben wallace, iam not i am not going to lower myself to her standards. the list goes on — there's a lot of chat about ben wallace, the defence secretary. and grant shapps, the transport secretary, is also seriously considering a run for leader. then there are the dark horses, backbenchers like tom tugendhat i , who launches his leadership bid and tomorrow's daily telegraph. i have had enough experience within government to know i can chair the meetings and lead the people, i have the ideas, i can mobilise secretaries of state to do what needs to be done. i'm absolutely confident, if i

seized power, i'd do a good job. boris johnson plans to stick around as prime minister while tory mps and party members plough through the process of picking a new leader. through the process but the rules for this election are not nailed down yet and there are tory mps who want to see mr johnson out sooner. i think what we need to do is appoint a caretaker, this weekend, somebody who won't run to be leader. i really worry, otherwise we're going to get into a febrile hotjuly coronation of somebody in a hurry. and are you going to have a crack at it? no, i won't be running but i will be working this summer to make sure we get the right person. this is crucial. we're in the last chance saloon, this party's packed with talent. the public haven't seen enough of it. restoring some calm after the chaos, rebuilding trust in political standards. the candidates will argue about the direction of the tory party but they will all agree the culture of leadership has to change. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. this time last night, the prime minister's allies were letting it be known that he intended to stay as party leader and prime minister,

because he considered that the conservative election victory in december 2019 was in many ways a personal achievement. a personal thumbs up from the voters, if you like. 0ne english seat that has returned a conservative mp to westminster for over a century is macclesfield in cheshire. our special correspondent ed thomas has been talking to people there. the truest and bluest of tory safe seats, macclesfield, a town loyal to the party for 100 years. but today... borisjohnson resigning, it's over. why did it take so long?! i was dancing in the kitchen, i bought a bottle of cava to celebrate tonight. it's going in the fridge. john and jo, on grandparent duty and planning a leaving do. what do you think of the man? narcissistic, psychopathic, selfish, boorish. if borisjohnson was here now, in cheshire, what would you say to him?

you've been an embarrassment for many years and your incompetence has caught up with you. millions and millions of people voted for the conservatives and borisjohnson in 2019, they wanted him. they voted on a promise of something that was not going to materialise. borisjohnson, he's going, what's the reaction? terrible! terrible. tough to hear for some loyalists like anne and julie. i think it's a shame that he's left and i don't think it's acceptable. you're part of this a0 million that have said i want borisjohnson. the a0 million should get together and descend on london. listening in is edward, 78, a paid—up member of the conservatives and furious. lock the town up and telli them, "we voted for him, "we want him kept." sounds a bit donald trump—esque. no, it's not. the only one i would vote for in the tory party was boris. despite all the apologies, despite the misleading of parliament, despite the parties, despite everything, you want him to stay? yeah, ido.

that's the only reason i voted for him, because of the character of him. but listen to the relief of best friends anne and anne. borisjohnson's gone. buffoon. liar — get out. each time there's been something that he's done and he survived. it's incredible. you start to lose faith in the whole system. greased piglet, they call him, and that is so apt, isn't it? you couldn't go on any longer? no, i couldn't. being a conservative... no. ..member? no, i couldn't stomach it, ed, i'd had enough. former conservative councillor andrew gregory, so disillusioned in borisjohnson, he quit. i will not be rejoining the party. i am so disappointed with the things that i've seen happen. millions of people put theirfaith in borisjohnson. indeed. in working—class communities, they wanted levelling up. yeah, i wonder whether if the vote came again they'd have that same certainty and satisfaction in that individual. a new chapter will soon begin but will old divisions remain?

ed thomas, bbc news, macclesfield. the change that happens here in downing street has profound implications for all parts of the uk. mrjohnson's resignation comes at a very challenging time in northern ireland, with controversial legislation at westminster designed to override parts of the post—brexit trading arrangements. that responsibility now falls to a new northern ireland secretary. 0ur ireland correspondent emma vardy is here. so, this change, and we know who is —— we don't know who is going to succeed mrjohnson, but the change itself and the uncertainty that creates, what impact does that happen politics and arrangements in northern ireland? none of the political parties in northern ireland were fans of boris johnson. they had all been critical of him, but it creates particularly more uncertainty here, because northern ireland is in the middle of a political crisis of its own. it

hasn't had a fully functioning government since february. getting one back is hanging on resolving problems the brexit arrangements stop the northern ireland protocol which has created a new trade bordering the irish sea. the dup said it would not go back into stormont unless that is removed. the party saw boris johnson stormont unless that is removed. the party saw borisjohnson as their best chance for pushing through controversial legislation to override parts of those brexit agreements. with borisjohnson gone now, that all feels much more in doubt. they saw him as the person who would push through that legislation, despite there being critics who would say, this goes against international law, so it adds uncertainty in northern ireland. the question for a new prime minister will be, do they continue in that they know do they take a more conciliatory tack with the eu? ' take a more conciliatory tack with the eu? ~ ., , take a more conciliatory tack with the eu? ~ . y ., ., take a more conciliatory tack with theeu? ~ . y ., ., ., the eu? mr, many thanks for that. -- emma. the view in northern ireland. there's a sharp focus too in the devolved governments in scotland and wales. in a moment we'll be hearing

from hywel griffith in cardiff, but first to james shaw in glasgow. welcome relief is a word that a lot of people across the political spectrum have been using in scotland today, believe that a —— that boris johnson is going. that was echoed by nicola sturgeon, who said that would be widespread, but not according to the scottish secretary alisterjack, boris johnson's the scottish secretary alisterjack, borisjohnson's man in scotland, who has stuck with him right the way to the end. there is one outstanding question, what happens to nicola sturgeon's idea of an independence referendum next 0ctober? sturgeon's idea of an independence referendum next october? in theory, a new prime minister might take a different view from boris johnson, who rejected it, but in reality, it is very hard to see any prime minister of the united kingdom saying yes to a referendum any time soon. support for boris johnson in soon. support for borisjohnson in wales evaporated remarkably quickly. late last night, the usually loyal

welsh secretary simon hart resigned, his replacement robert buckland only taking thejob, we are his replacement robert buckland only taking the job, we are told, because borisjohnson was going to quit. when exactly he will leave is still an open question. the leader of the welsh conservatives here says he would be happy for borisjohnson to stay over the summer, pointing to his legacy. it's worth noting how well the welsh conservatives did under borisjohnson in 2019. grabbing a fistful of labour seats. still, the challenge for the next leader is how they persuade those first—time welsh tory voters to stay with them in constituencies like wrexham, dalian and bridgend. the other challenge is resetting the relationship with the welsh government. a labour administration. so of course, they are rivals, things have been very fractious of late, not least with politicians here in cardiff claiming that the uk government has been grabbing back power and deliberately disrespecting the devolution settlement. how will griffith in cardiff bay and

james shaw in glasgow before that. —— hywel. one of the most important issues facing the new prime minster, whenever he or she takes office, will be the crisis around the cost of living. it isa it is a growing crisis. today, the independent forecaster, the office for budget responsibility, warned that debt in the uk is on an �*unsustainable path', unless spending is tightened, and taxes are raised. our economics editor faisal islam is here to explain. the government's own forecasters have a central message — there's not enough money to fund services for an ageing society over the next 50 years, leading to massive government debts unless something is done. this is down to several things — a slower growing economy, a declining workforce and population. at the same time spending is set to shoot up on the nhs, social care and pensions as society ages. for example, now we spend less than a fifth of the value of the whole economy on a combination of health, social care and pensions.

that is in the yellow, black and red boxes. over 50 years, that is rising to closer to a third. and if we have fewer workers and therefore less tax coming in as predicted, that means a borrowing timebomb. so here's one stark example of why will there be less tax coming in — fuel and excise duty as one example. the government would expect to get a huge amount here, £30 billion a year. but because of the phasing out of petrol engines in favour of electric cars, that revenue is heading to... well, zero. will it be replaced? can it be replaced? and yet right now in the argument over who becomes prime minister, the pressure is to offer immediate tax cuts or not go through with planned tax rises. how much will be tackled by candidates hoping to be the next prime minister? let's see. back to you, huw. thanks forjoining us.

throughout his premiership, borisjohnson has sought to promote an image of a globally significant uk on the world stage. it's a policy closely linked to his support for brexit, and the most obvious example of a global role has been in ukraine. our diplomatic corresponent caroline hawley looks at his reputation beyond the shores of the united kingdom. the british government is in turmoil this morning. prime minister borisjohnson, a key ally, announces that he is resigning. the downfall of borisjohnson has made international headlines. the prime minister, who as a child wanted to be king of the world, who took the uk out of the eu and promoted the country as global britain. it is time to change the record, to recover our natural and historic role as an enterprising, outward—looking and truly global britain.

generous in temper and engaged with the world. the crisis in ukraine has provided borisjohnson an opportunity to show british generosity. the uk was the first european country to send arms, with cross—party support. but as support for his leadership at home drained away, ukraine appeared for him a welcome distraction. in president zelensky, he found a grateful ally who today expressed sadness. translation: thank you, - boris johnson, for understanding the threat of the russian monster and always being at the forefront of supporting ukraine. moscow, by contrast, gloated, with one official saying he'd been hit by his own boomerang. we have a deal with the eu that is ready to go. it is oven ready as i never tire...

brexit had propelled borisjohnson to power. he got his deal, but his plan to override parts of it brought fury in european capitals. and there are few tears being shed in most of europe tonight at his demise. he is making great progress, so it's an honour to have you here. we will be discussing trade. we can quadruple our trade with the uk... borisjohnson has drawn comparisons with donald trump — both populist, controversial leaders. despite the smiles, relations withjoe biden are cooler, with no trade deal in sight and concerns in washington over northern ireland. i think he's seen as a big and charismatic personality, but i'm afraid one that could not be trusted to stick to deals. his word was not his bond. we are now a country which unilaterally rips up international agreements. i think we're diminished on the international stage and there's ground to be made up. boris johnson relished

the world stage. he's reordered british foreign policy. but there are, to put it mildly, decidedly mixed views of his overall performance and of the legacy he'll leave. caroline hawley, bbc news. you can talk about the conflict in ukraine. —— we can talk. earlier tonight — president putin said that russia hadn't yet started negotiating "in earnest" on ukraine. and he went on to dare the west to take on russian forces on the battlefield. our correspondent joe inwood is in kyiv. is itfairto is it fair to say that this contribution from vladimir putin was quite a belligerent one? yes. contribution from vladimir putin was quite a belligerent one?— quite a belligerent one? yes, it certainly was. _ quite a belligerent one? yes, it certainly was, this _ quite a belligerent one? yes, it certainly was, this was - quite a belligerent one? yes, it certainly was, this was a - quite a belligerent one? yes, it. certainly was, this was a hawkish speech delivered to a very receiving, well received in audience, and he was basically issuing a challenge to the west, he said if you think you can take russia on on the battlefield, bring it on. he also suggested the west was happy to fight to the very last ukrainian, something which he said was a tragedy for this country, and

i thought the most striking thing was the suggestion from vladimir putin that what he calls his special military operation had not even begunin military operation had not even begun in earnest. that will come as a surprise to people in ukraine where 20% of the territory is already occupied and the speech has been dismissed by the presidential advisor here you said it was for an internal audience only.— internal audience only. thanks for “oininu internal audience only. thanks for joining us- — internal audience only. thanks for joining us. let's _ internal audience only. thanks for joining us. let's change _ internal audience only. thanks for joining us. let's change direction | joining us. let's change direction completely and talk about the tennis. the two—time men's champion rafael nadal has pulled out of wimbledon. the second seed was on course for a record 23rd grand slam title, but he has been forced to withdraw because of injury. our sports correspondentjoe wilson rounds up the day's news. he came to wimbledon to practice, to try, and a glimpse of rafael nadal�*s torso, however sculpted,

reveals the problem. do you see the tape on there? an abdominal tear obviously hampered him during his quarterfinal. he had considered retiring during that match, but 2a hours later he had run out of options. it's obvious that if i keep going the injury is going to be worse and worse, and that's the thing that i can say now, and i feel very sad to say that. nadal first won wimbledon in 2008 and then again in 2010. his two grand slam titles this year took his total to 22 but the most successful men's player ever has to manage his career, and thus reluctantly withdraws. there are immediate consequences here. nick kyrgios, with no semifinal opponent, is through to his first grand slam final. cameron norrie looked fit and well on the practice courts, preparing for the biggest match of his life, the semifinal that remains, against novak djokovic who is perfectly familiar with these occasions. remember, he is chasing nadal�*s all—time record

of grand slam titles. two players are left in the women's singles. ons jabeur of tunisia beat her friend tatjana maria of germany in their semifinal. jabeur is the first african woman to reach the wimbledon final in the open era. in the final she will play elena rybakina of kazakhstan. she overpowered simona halep. one trophy has already been lifted. britain's neal skupski with american desirae krawczyk won the mixed doubles, defending their title. wimbledon loves to see champions come back. rafa nadal will be 37 next summer — does he, do we, dare look that far ahead? joe wilson, bbc news, wimbledon. northern ireland, the lowest—ranked team to qualify for the women's euro finals, got off to a difficult start tonight against former european champions norway.

northern ireland were beaten 4—1 in southampton, as jane dougall reports. a first major tournament. some have known nothing else, others have suffered years of disappointment. but now, all young fans can picture themselves playing for their country. i really hope that i would become a professional footballer, so that's my dream, probably hers as well. yeah, definitely. i said to my granddaughter there, molly, if they qualified last year, i i would take her to the euros. they're showing what our wee country is capable of. what's incredible is that the northern ireland players are not professional. they all have dayjobs. the squad is made up of nhs staff, teachers and shop workers, who now all have the hopes of a nation resting on their shoulders. walking out to make history. the debutants under the watchful eye of their seasoned manager. could the sisters in arms complete the fairy tale?

after nine minutes, it seemed unlikely. norway looking organised. a second swiftly followed and northern ireland were defending for their lives. brilliant block! but an arm in the box led to a penalty, decisively struck. the second half saw a sharper northern ireland. from a corner, the veteranjulie nelson got her head on the ball. and northern ireland have scored! sending the crowd into raptures. the euphoria didn't last long. a beautifully placed free kick brought them back down to earth. a predictable loss, perhaps, but this night won't be remembered for the scoreline. instead, the fans will hold onto the memory of a first international tournament goal for northern ireland women. jane dougal, bbc news, southampton. before we go, let's return to westminster. it return to westminster. is a bit later than planned because it is a bit later than planned because we have been reporting on all of the developments today. our political editor

chris mason joins us again. we talked about possible successors so how can you help with that? boris johnson climbed _ so how can you help with that? boris johnson climbed high _ so how can you help with that? err" 3 johnson climbed high and fell fast, convention smashing, rule bending, prime minister, and the party now looks for a successor and in all likelihood will look for a successor of very different character but beyond that there is likely to be an intense discussion within the conservative party about what being a conservative in 2022 actually feels like. that discussion is already under way, and the leadership campaigns are already up and running and i was talking to a cabinet minister at lunchtime and their phone was ringing and one of their phone was ringing and one of the likely candidates was ringing them. we will see that step up in them. we will see that step up in the coming days but how long would it take, is it something mps in westminster can decide amongst

themselves or does it go out to the wider conservative party membership? a tiny sliver of the population at large at 100,000 people, a tiny sliver of the population at large at100,000 people, deciding a tiny sliver of the population at large at 100,000 people, deciding on behalf for the rest of us who the next prime minister will be. chris mason, next prime minister will be. chris mason. thanks — next prime minister will be. chris mason, thanks for— next prime minister will be. chris mason, thanks forjoining - next prime minister will be. chris mason, thanks forjoining us. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. started off a bit ropey this morning with a lot of cloud around but look at this, once the sunshine comes through it has got some strength in it at this time of year so we sought highs this afternoon of 27, 80 fahrenheit —— we saw. the best of the weather in the east and the best of the sunshine in terms of volume, nearly 1a hours of sunshine in edinburgh this afternoon. not all of scotland saw sunshine and there was quite a lot of cloud around as you can see here from the satellite picture from earlier, the cloud of thick enough to produce a bit of drizzle as well in the far north and

west of the great glen. this frontal system is toppling the high pressure and the high pressure still really in the driving seat, keeping things pretty quiet over the next few days. we have got some cloud over the next few hours and some of drizzle and elsewhere a bit of cloud over north west england and northern ireland but a mild start with temperatures widely starting off at around the mid—teens posting. mild and warm and dry and sunny, that is going to be the theme as we move into the weekend, yes, the nuisance frontal system producing a bit of patchy drizzle here and there but elsewhere with the best of the sunshine, we have the warmth and we are looking at highs of 21, 22, in eastern scotland, highs of 28 perhaps out to the east. that means we might have to keep a close eye on the uv levels, worth bearing in mind if you are out and about for any length of time. as we move into the weekend, you will need to continue to think

about that with the highest remaining and the frontal system moves further north so even areas that have stayed pretty cloudy and great so far this week will actually improve into the weekend and it is going to get warmer still with temperatures potentially peaking at 30 degrees. what do you think? factor 50 for me! newsnight has started on bbc two, and here on bbc one we'll be joining our news teams in the nations and regions. but we leave you tonight with some key words and images from the past two and a half years of boris johnson's time as prime minister. goodnight. we're going to come out of the eu — no ifs or buts. wonderful to see this new team assembled here. rishi. .. he's going to be a fantastic prime minister, i can tell you.

the decision to advise her majesty. to prorogue parliament was unlawful. cheers you must stay at home. i've developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus. machines beep the nhs has saved my life — no question. gps are doing an incredible job of getting those jabs into people's arms. yes! uh... so i went, as we all must, to peppa pig world. cameras click

mr speaker, i want to apologise.