MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2022) UK Prime Minister Johnson's allies are planning to prevent former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak from becoming Conservative party leader and accuse him of treachery for triggering Johnson's resignation, Financial Times reported on Friday, citing government sources.
Sunak officially announced his nomination for the post of the new leader of the Conservative Party and UK Prime Minister on Friday. Sunak resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer on Tuesday. UK broadcaster SkyNews reported on Friday that the domain 'ready4rishi.com' to launch Sunak's Conservative leadership campaign was registered on Wednesday, the day before Johnson announced his resignation.
The media cited a cabinet minister loyal to Johnson as saying that the prime minister's allies would try to stop Sunak from becoming the new Tory leader.
"Rishi will get everything he deserves for leading the charge in bringing down the prime minister," the cabinet minister said.
One government official close to Johnson told the media that Sunak has not informed the prime minister of his intention to resign. Another source said that Sunak "tried to call the prime minister but he didn't answer," according to the report.
Boris Johnson, who succeeded Theresa May as prime minister in 2019, announced on Thursday that he was stepping down as the prime minister and head of the UK's Conservative Party, and would remain in office until the appointment of a new prime minister.
