Rory Stewart confirms resignation from Cabinet after Boris Johnson's victory
Rory Stewart has confirmed he will resign as International Development Secretary after Boris Johnson's landslide victory in the race for Number 10.
The Tory MP, who had been among the early challengers in the leadership contest, congratulated Mr Johnson on being elected Prime Minister.
But he confirmed he would be quitting his Cabinet post, tweeting that he would be on the "backbench tomorrow serving Cumbria".
He posted the comments alongside a picture showing him standing with two horses.
He said: "Congratulations Boris Johnson on becoming Leader. Honour to serve in turn as Minister of Environment, Mid East +Asia, Africa, Prisons + then Development Secretary in Cabinet +NSC.
"Backbench tomorrow serving Cumbria. Thank you all. More walking!"
Congratulations @BorisJohnson on becoming Leader. Honour to serve in turn as Minister of Environment @DefraGovUK, Mid East +Asia @DFID_UK, Africa @FCO, Prisons @MoJGovUK + then Development Secretary in Cabinet +NSC. Backbench tomorrow serving Cumbria. Thank you all. More walking! pic.twitter.com/2PVLTaGXXR
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK)
Mr Stewart previously spoke about his intention to resign, saying at an event on Monday that he only had 36 hours left as a Cabinet minister.
The MP for Penrith and The Border said he told Mr Johnson he would resign and try to block a no-deal Brexit if he won the leadership contest.
He joined Philip Hammond in saying he would quit, with the Chancellor saying he would have no option but to leave his post under a Johnson government.
Mr Hammond said that he would return to the backbenches as he cannot sign up to support Mr Johnson's stance on accepting a no-deal Brexit.
The Chancellor congratulated Mr Johnson on being voted the next Prime Minister but has not yet confirmed his resignation.
Asked on the BBC One's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday if he thought he would be sacked, Mr Hammond said: "No, I'm sure I'm not going to be sacked because I'm going to resign before we get to that point.
"Assuming that Boris Johnson becomes the next prime minister, I understand that his conditions for serving in his government would include accepting a no-deal exit on the 31st October and it's not something that I could ever sign up to.
"It's very important that the prime minister is able to have a chancellor who is closely aligned with him in terms of policy and I therefore intend to resign to Theresa May before she goes to the Palace to tender her own resignation on Wednesday."
