Boris Johnson said it was “clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader” as he announced his resignation.
Mr Johnson said he was “immensely proud of the achievements of this government”, from "getting Brexit done to getting the UK through the pandemic, and leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine".
He said he had tried to persuade his cabinet it would be “eccentric” to change prime minister now but “I regret not to have been successful in those arguments”.
He acknowledged that “in politics, no one is remotely indispensable” as he announced his resignation as Tory leader.
Addressing the British public, he said “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.”
"I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world".
Boris Johnson continues by thanking his wife Carrie, their children and his whole family "who have had to put up with so much for so long".
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While Mr Johnson will step down as Tory leader and prime minister, he will still hold the office until a successor is in place.
This is expected to be confirmed by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October.
Mr Johnson was previously adamant he would hold on to power despite the resignations of over 50 figures in his government.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis announced his resignation on Thursday morning.
On Thursday, the man he appointed as finance minister less than 48 hours earlier publicly urged Mr Johnson to go.
UK defence secretary Ben Wallace also called on Mr Johnson to quit, but said he would stay in his role to protect national security.
A No 10 source said Mr Johnson spoke to Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, to inform him of his decision.
“The prime minister has spoken to Graham Brady and agreed to stand down in time for a new leader to be in place by the conference in October,” a No 10 source said.
