Boris Johnson vowed to keep his ‘do or die’ Brexit pledge in a bullish speech in Downing Street today after the Queen installed him as PM.
Watched by girlfriend Carrie Symonds outside No10, the new premier said he was honoured to have been chosen to take over from Theresa May.
As the street was bathed in sunshine, Mr Johnson said he would ‘honour’ the mandate of the 2016 referendum and prove the ‘doomsters and the gloomsters wrong’.
‘The British people have had enough of waiting. The time has come to act,’ he said.
‘Never mind the backstop, the buck stops here.’
He said wanted the ‘warmest possible’ relations with the EU, but would prepare for the ‘remote’ possibility the bloc refuses to offer an acceptable deal.
Mr Johnson also insisted that his plans would stretch far further than Brexit, and he would boost police numbers by 20,000, bring forward a new social care system and boost education.
Meanwhile, a brutal Cabinet reshuffle is taking shape – with Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, a Jeremy Hunt supporter, revealing she was going to the backbenches after being sacked.
Trade Secretary Liam Fox has also been axed from the government. Business secretary Greg Clark was fired, sharing the fate of a host of Remainers including Chancellor Philip Hammond and International Development Secretary Rory Stewart who fell on their swords before Mrs May left.
Mr Johnson achieved his lifetime ambition of becoming PM minutes earlier, having arrived at Buckingham Palace just after 3pm despite environmental protesters briefly trying to block his car.
He was greeted by the Queen’s aides and taken into the building for his crucial audience – with pictures showing the moment they shook hands.
Mr Johnson was applauded into Downing Street by staff after delivering his speech on the threshold of Downing Street
Mr Johnson drank in the applause as he prepared to walk into No10 for the first time as Prime Minister this afternoon
Mr Johnson’s girlfriend Carrie Symonds, had not been expected to be present as he went into Downing Street – but was waiting for him when he arrived standing alongside new chief of staff Eddie Lister (left)
A photograph released by Buckingham Palace showed the moment Boris Johnson shook hands with the Queen today
Mr Johnson’s convoy pulled in minutes after Mrs May left, having delivered her own valedictory statement and formally told the Queen that she wanted to relinquish power.
She will also have advised the monarch to call for Mr Johnson – who was appointed her successor as Tory leader yesterday.
As the changeover loomed, Mr Johnson has been marshalling his forces for Brexit warfare.
The incoming PM has laid down a marker by appointing maverick Vote Leave chief Dominic Cummings as a top adviser.
Mr Cummings came up with the ‘take back control’ slogan and was behind the controversial claim that Brexit could free up £350million a week for the NHS.
But he is known for his abrasive style, and MPs reacted with alarm at news of the appointment. One Johnson supporter told MailOnline he ‘lacks people skills’ and was ill-equipped to handle the pressure-cooker of No10. Hearing of the recruitment, another MP said incredulously: ‘Really?’
A host of other veterans of the successful EU referendum campaign in 2016 are also being brought into the No10 fold with Mr Johnson.
Meanwhile, Brexiteers such as Priti Patel and Dominic Raab are in line for comebacks to the Cabinet.
In his speech, Mr Johnson paid tribute to Mrs May but then said: ‘But in spite all of her efforts, it has become clear that there are pessimists at home and abroad who think after three years of indecision that this country has become a prisoner to the old arguments of 2016.
‘And in this home of democracy we are incapable of honouring a democratic mandate and so I am standing before you today to tell you the British people that those critics are wrong.
‘The doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong again.
‘The people who bet against Britain are going to lose their shirts because we are going to restore trust in our democracy.
‘And we are going to fulfil the repeated promises of parliament to the people and come out of the EU on October 31, no ifs or buts.
‘And we will do a new deal, a better deal that will maximise the opportunities of Brexit while allowing us to develop a new and exciting partnership with the rest of Europe based on free trade and mutual support.’
He added: ‘Though I am today building a great team of men and women, I will take personal responsibility for the change I want to see.
‘Never mind the backstop: The buck stops here.’
Sajid Javid is hotly tipped as the new Chancellor as Mr Johnson promises to create the ‘most diverse’ top table of government ever.
But Jeremy Hunt could be out on his ear after apparently turning down a move to defence – saying he will only accept staying as Foreign Secretary, becoming Chancellor, or being deputy PM.
Making a valedictory statement as she left Downing Street for the last time earlier, Mrs May said the ‘immediate priority’ was to secure the departure from the EU ‘in a way that works for the whole United Kingdom’.
‘To serve as PM of the UK is the greatest honour,’ she said. ‘Thank you for putting your faith in me.’
Mrs May, who appeared to be choking back tears at times, voiced gratitude to her ‘biggest supporter’ husband Philip, who joined her in the street for her brief speech.
She said she hoped that ‘every girl’ would recognise from her example that there is ‘no limit’ to what they could achieve.
Ms Symonds could be seen in background as Mr Johnson made his first address as the country’s new Prime Minister
The former Conservative communications director, 31, had not been seen with Mr Johnson since leaving his home in Oxfordshire on Sunday – but she appeared outside Downing Street today as Mr Johnson met with the Queen
It is thought Miss Symonds had not been seen up until this point because she wanted to keep a low profile around her partner’s celebrations because he is not yet divorced from estranged wife Marina
Sporting a shadowed daisy red Ghost dress, Miss Symonds appeared smiling and happy as she waited for her partner to return from Buckingham Palace
At one point the speech was interrupted by a protester shouting ‘stop Brexit’, with Mrs May wryly responding: ‘I think not.’
Mrs May emerged from the famous black door after a final lunch with aides and thanking staff.
She then headed to Buckingham Palace to tell the Queen formally that she is resigning. The Palace confirmed that she has quit.
Mrs May will be followed into see the monarch by Mr Johnson – who has spent the morning frantically finalising his team for government.
The emotional words came after she was given a standing ovation by MPs in the Commons following her last PMQs.
The outgoing premier looked tearful as she was applauded from the chamber after making her swansong before handing over to Boris Johnson.
But Jeremy Corbyn and most Labour MPs refused to get to their feet for the tribute – after the veteran left-winger ignored etiquette to attack Mrs May during her last Commons session.
Senior ministers including Chancellor Philip Hammond, International Development Secretary Rory Stewart and Justice Secretary David Gauke have made good on their pledge to follow her out of the door.
They tendered their own resignations having made clear they are not prepared to meet Mr Johnson’s demand that all Cabinet ministers commit to going for No Deal at Halloween if an agreement cannot be struck with the EU.
Taking to the despatch box hours before she is due to go to see the Queen, Mrs May was lauded for her dedication by a series of MPs from across parties.
But Mr Corbyn used his six questions to jibe that she should be joining the Remainer revolt against the new PM to avoid No Deal.
Mrs May insisted her successor was right to vow to honour the result of the referendum.
As her husband Philip watched from the gallery, Mrs May said she had done her best to get a deal through Parliament, and he should be ‘ashamed’ for blocking the UK from leaving.
‘At every stage his only interest has been in playing party politics. Frankly, he should be ashamed of himself,’ she said.
In one last stinging rebuke she told Mr Corbyn: ‘As a party leader who has accepted their time has come, perhaps now is the time for him to do the same.’
Mrs May, who has served on the Tory front bench for 21 years, also made clear she intends to continue doing her ‘duty’ for the country as MP for Maidenhead after standing down from No10.
Staffers had lined the halls of No10 to welcome the new Prime Minister of the UK after he was asked to form a new government by the Queen
Mr Johnson already seemed to be enjoying himself as the staff at No10 encountered their new boss for the first time
Mr Johnson was guided across the threshold by Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill – with whom he is believed to have had a fractious relationship in the past
Mr Johnson is expected to make appointments to the first few big jobs in the government but leave the less important ones for the next day as he gets immediately to work tonight
Closing the session – which lasted for more than an hour despite being schedule for half that – Mrs May said: ‘We are living through extraordinary political times. This House of Commons is rightly at the centre of those events.
‘That’s because of the vital link between every single member of this House and the communities, the Commons that we represent.
‘That’s the bedrock of our parliamentary democracy and of our liberty.
‘And each of us, wherever we sit and whatever we stand for, can take pride in that.’
The Prime Minister’s voice faltered as she made her final remarks: ‘That duty to my constituents will remain my greatest motivation.’
Mrs May was flanked on the government benches by senior ministers including Mr Hammond and David Lidington – who were also leaving government.
The Prime Minister says she will continue with her duties from the back benches as she faces her final Prime Minister’s Questions as PM.
Speaking in the Commons, she said: ‘This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.
‘Following my duties in this House this afternoon I shall have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
‘I shall then continue with my duties in this House from the back benches where I will continue to be the member of parliament for Maidenhead.’
After the PMQs session, Mrs May headed back to No10 where she thanked staff behind closed doors.
They lined the edges of Downing Street as the departing premier delivered her last words before quitting.
When she announced her intention to resign back in May, the PM was unable to hold back her tears.
Theresa May voiced gratitude to husband Philip, who joined her in Downing Street as she delivered her brief parting speech
Mrs May paid tribute to her ‘biggest supporter’, husband Philip in her valedictory address in Downing Street today
The Mays walked away together to get into the PM’s car for the last time to be taken to Buckingham Palace
The couple walked away after the speech and within half-an-hour she was no long the Prime Minister of the UK
Mrs May travelled to Buckingham Palace for a final audience with the Queen this afternoon where she formally resigned as prime minister
Mr Johnson once joked that he had more chance of being ‘reincarnated as an olive’ than becoming PM – but today he will realise his dream.
The new Tory leader – who as a child said his ambition was to be ‘world king’ is frantically assembling his new team as he prepares will take over from Theresa May this afternoon .
Seeking to inject a ‘can-do’ spirit into government and force through Brexit by the end of October. Mr Johnson will promote a new generation of ministers.
Speculation is mounting today that Mr Johnson could call a snap election – with MPs saying he might need to ‘change the maths’ in the Commons to secure Brexit.
The incoming PM is facing a massive challenge to keep his ‘do or die’ promise to force through the UK’s departure from the EU by the end of October.
The government’s effective majority stands at just two – and could fall to one if, as expected, the Conservatives lose a by-election in Brecon next week.
Mr Johnson again played down the prospects of an early election when he addressed Tory MPs after winning the party leadership yesterday.
But allies admit that he might be left with no choice amid a potentially huge Remainer revolt against No Deal.
Meanwhile, the EU has flatly dismissed his calls to renegotiation the divorce package and remove the hated Irish border backstop.
Increasing number of MPs now believe that Mr Johnson could go for an election if Parliament blocks or delays Brexit.
The speculation was fuelled after Nigel Farage suggested he is open to the idea of an electoral pact, and claimed US president Donald Trump would be fully behind such an ‘unstoppable’ the alliance.
However, Mr Johnson’s key allies have insisted there is ‘no way’ they will do a deal with Mr Farage’s Brexit Party, despite the clear threat they face to the Tories’ chances.
As ‘war games’ of Mr Johnson’s options sweep Westminster, a senior Tory MP told MailOnline a snap election on October 24 was a ‘distinct possibility’.
They suggested Mr Johnson could spend August talking up his domestic agenda with eye-catching announcements of more money for police and education.
‘At the same time he is off around Europe, and the message he quickly learns is ”f*** off we’re not changing”,’ the MP said.
‘He comes back in September, smacks Corbyn around the park at PMQs, then turns round the second week and says, ”The trouble with Europe is they know this Parliament is on their side. So I am going to the country so we can get the maths sorted to get this done.”
‘That puts the Brexit Party out of business and, with the domestic agenda, it puts Labour out of business.’
Labour claimed it has been holding secret talks with Tory Remainer rebels over working together to collapse Boris Johnson’s government within weeks if he attempts a No Deal Brexit.
Barry Gardiner said that the opposition had been discussing the ‘nuclear option’ of supporting a no confidence vote in Mr Johnson’s Brexiteer administration.
The shadow international trade secretary’s admission came reports that as many as a dozen senior Tories could back Mr Corbyn if he calls for a vote of no confidence in the new government.
Mr Hammond, who quit today rather than be sacked by Mr Johnson, and former chancellor Ken Clarke, have both refused to rule out he drastic step that would possibly see them lose the Tory whip.
Mr Gardiner named no names but asked if some Tories were talking to Labour he told the BBC ‘yes of course they are’ but that any move would depend on whether they were really prepared to go through with it.
‘We know that the Whips’ operation on the Conservative side can be very powerful and very effective,’ he said.
‘So we really do have to be clear (about) those Conservative MPs who say they will act in the nation’s best interest – even to the extent of voting down their own Conservative Government – because they like we are so concerned about the impact of no deal on the future of our country.’
Here is Boris Johnson’s first speech as PM in full:
‘Good afternoon.
‘I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen who has invited me to form a Government and I have accepted.
‘I pay tribute to the fortitude and patience of my predecessor and her deep sense of public service.
‘But in spite of all her efforts it has become clear that there are pessimists at home and abroad who think after three years of indecision that this country has become a prisoner to the old arguments of 2016 and in this home of democracy we are incapable of honouring a democratic mandate.
‘And so I am standing before you today to tell you the British people that those critics are wrong.
‘The doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong again.
Mr Johnson gave his first speech as PM in Downing Street today
‘The people who bet against Britain are going to lose their shirts because we are going to restore trust in our democracy and we are going to fulfil the repeated promises of Parliament to the people and come out of the EU on October 31, no ifs or buts.
‘And we will do a new deal, a better deal that will maximise the opportunities of Brexit while allowing us to develop a new and exciting partnership with the rest of Europe based on free trade and mutual support.
‘I have every confidence that in 99 days time we will have cracked it.
‘But you know what, we are not going to wait 99 days because the British people have had enough of waiting.
‘The time has come to act, to take decisions, to give strong leadership and to change this country for the better.
‘And though the Queen has just honoured me with this extraordinary office of state, my job is to serve you, the people.
‘Because if there is one point we politicians need to remember it is that the people are our bosses.
‘My job is to make your streets safer and we are going to begin with another 20,000 police on the streets and we start recruiting forthwith.
‘My job is to make sure you don’t have to wait three weeks to see your GP and we start work this week with 20 new hospital upgrades and ensuring that the money for the NHS really does get to the front line.
‘My job is to protect you, or your parents or grandparents, from the fear of having to sell your home to pay for the costs of care and so I am announcing now on the steps of Downing Street that we will fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve.’
‘My job is to make sure your kids get a superb education wherever they are in the country and that’s why we have already announced we are going to level up per-pupil funding in primary and secondary schools.
‘And that is the work that begins immediately behind that black door.
‘And though I am today building a great team of men and women I will take personal responsibility for the change I want to see.
‘Never mind the backstop – the buck stops here.
‘And I’ll tell you something else about my job.
‘It is to be Prime Minister of the whole United Kingdom and that means uniting our country, answering at last the plea of the forgotten people and the left-behind towns by physically and literally renewing the ties that bind us together.
‘So that with safer streets and better education and fantastic new road and rail infrastructure and full fibre broadband we level-up across Britain.
‘With higher wages, a higher living wage, higher productivity, we close the opportunity gap giving millions of young people the chance to own their own homes.
‘And giving business the confidence to invest across the UK.
‘Because it is time we unleashed the productive power, not just of London and the South East, but of every corner of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
‘The awesome foursome that are incarnated in that red, white and blue flag; who together are so much more than the sum of their parts and whose brand and political personality is admired and even loved around the world for our inventiveness, for our humour, for our universities, our scientists, our armed forces, our diplomacy.
‘For the equalities on which we insist: whether race or gender or LGBT or the right of every girl in the world to 12 years of quality education.
‘For the values we stand for around the world. Everyone knows the values that flag represents. It stands for freedom, and free speech and habeas corpus and the rule of law and above all it stands for democracy.
‘And that is why we will come out of the EU on October 31. Because in the end Brexit was a fundamental decision by the British people that they wanted their laws made by people that they can elect and they can remove from office.
‘And we must now respect that decision and create a new partnership with our European friends. As warm, as close, as affectionate as possible.
‘And the first step is to repeat unequivocally our guarantee to the 3.2 million EU nationals now living and working among us.
‘And I say directly to you: thank you, thank you for your contribution to our society, thank you for your patience and I can assure you that under this Government you will have the absolute certainty of the right to live and remain.
‘And I say next to our friends in Ireland and in Brussels and around the EU: I am convinced we can do a deal without checks at the Irish border.
‘Because we refuse under any circumstances to have such checks and yet without that anti-democratic backstop.
‘And it is of course vital at the same time that we prepare for the remote possibility that Brussels refuses any further to negotiate and we are forced to come out with no deal.
‘Not because we want that outcome, of course not, but because it is only common sense to prepare.
‘And let me stress that there is a vital sense in which those preparations cannot be wasted.
‘And that is because under any circumstances we will need to get ready at some point in the near future to come out of the EU customs union and out of regulatory control, fully determined at last to take advantage of Brexit.
‘Because that is the course on which this country is now set.
‘With high hearts and growing confidence we will now accelerate the work of getting ready.
‘And the ports will be ready and the banks will be ready and the factories will be ready and business will be ready and the hospitals will be ready and our amazing food and farming sector will be ready and waiting to continue selling ever more not just here but around the world.
‘And don’t forget that in the event of a no deal outcome we will have that extra lubrication of the £39 billion.
‘And whatever deal we do, we will prepare this autumn for an economic package to boost British business and to lengthen this country’s lead as the number one destination in this continent for overseas investment.
‘And to all those who continue to prophesy disaster I say yes there will be difficulties though I believe that with energy and application they will be far less serious than some have claimed.
‘But if there is one thing that has really sapped the confidence of business over the last three years it is not the decisions we have taken, it is our refusal to take decisions.
‘And to all those who say we cannot be ready, I say do not underestimate this country.
‘Do not underestimate our powers of organisation and our determination because we know the enormous strengths of this economy – in life sciences, in tech, in academia, in music ,the arts, culture, financial services.
‘It is here in Britain that we are using gene therapy for the first time to treat the most common form of blindness.
‘Here in Britain that we are leading the world in battery technology that will help cut CO2 and tackle climate change and produce green jobs for the next generation.
‘And as we prepare for a post-Brexit future it is time we look not at the risks but at the opportunities that are upon us.
‘So let us begin work now to create free ports that will drive growth and thousands of high-skilled jobs in left-behind areas.
‘Let’s start now to liberate the UK’s extraordinary bioscience sector from anti-genetic modification rules and let’s develop the blight resistant crops that will feed the world.
‘Let’s get going now on our own position, navigation and timing satellite and earth observation systems.
‘UK assets orbiting in space with all the long term strategic and commercial benefits for this country.
‘Let’s change the tax rules to provide extra incentives to invest in capital and research.
‘And let’s promote the welfare of animals that has always been so close to the hearts of the British people.
‘And yes, let’s start now on those free trade deals because it is free trade that has done more than anything else to lift billions out of poverty.
‘All this and more we can do now and only now, at this extraordinary moment in our history and after three years of unfounded self-doubt 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.
‘No one in the last few centuries has succeeded in betting against the pluck and nerve and ambition of this country.
‘They will not succeed today.
‘We in this Government will work flat out to give this country the leadership it deserves and that work begins now.
‘Thank you very much.’
Hammond, Stewart and Gauke QUIT: Remainer exodus begins as ministers jump before they are pushed by Boris Johnson and replaced with hardline Brexiteers
Philip Hammond led an exodus of Remainer Cabinet ministers in quitting the Government this afternoon before Boris Johnson takes over as prime minister and steers the UK towards a possible No Deal Brexit.
The Chancellor honoured a weekend pledge to walk out rather than be part of an administration committed to a No Deal Brexit.
He was followed by Justice Secretary David Gauke and Aid Secretary Rory Stewart, who had both long signposted their intention to resign before being fired by Mr Johnson.
In his letter, published on Twitter, Mr Hammond said Mrs May’s successor must ‘be free to choose a Chancellor who is fully aligned with his policy position.’
In his letter, published on Twitter Mr Hammond (leaving Number 11 to attend PMQs today) said Mrs May’s successor must ‘be free to choose a Chancellor who is fully aligned with his policy position’
He said: ‘We bequeath to our successors genuine choices, once a Brexit deal is done: The ability to choose, within fiscal rules, between increased public spending, reduced taxes, higher investment or progress towards faster debt reduction – or some combination of all four.
‘After a decade when the aftermath of the 2008-09 recession meant we had no choices, this is a luxury which our successors should use wisely.’
Others expected to quit include de-facto prime minister David Lidington. They follow three ministers who had already quit.
They are all expected to join a Remainer resistance to any attempt by Mr Johnson to take Britain out of Europe without a Brexit deal on October 31.
The move is being taken to pre-empt being sacked as he installs hardcore Brexiteers in their jobs.