Plaid Cymru calls for summer recess to be cancelled while Boris Johnson remains in Downing Street

Plaid Cymru has called for Westminster’s summer recess to be cancelled and says Boris Johnson can’t be trusted with the levers of power.

Mr Johnson announced his resignation yesterday but is refusing to heed calls to let a caretaker Prime Minister take over, as would-be successors are weighing up bids to replace him as leader of the Conservative Part.

There is growing pressure from senior Conservatives for Mr Johnson to step down immediately as Prime Minister and not wait for the election of a new leader.

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major was among those backing calls for Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab to be installed as a caretaker premier.

But Downing Street on Friday insisted Mr Johnson will not leave No 10 before a new leader is installed.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader said the Prime Minister should immediately vacate Number 10 and slammed the “self-serving” resignation speech he made in Downing Street yesterday afternoon.

Preposterous

Liz Saville Roberts MP said: “It’s preposterous that Boris Johnson still holds the keys to Number 10 despite having lost all claim to them.

“His self-serving speech yesterday showed zero self-awareness and zero contrition.

“I fear what this bullying narcissist of a Prime Minister will do with his last days of power”.

“The House of Commons is due to rise for our summer recess in under two weeks, after which Johnson will continue to be in office without any scrutiny.

“Democracy would be further undermined if Members of Parliament couldn’t keep the squatter Prime Minister honest.

“If he insists on hoarding power until the bitter end, he must at the very least come to Parliament to give regular updates on his and his zombie Cabinet’s activities.”

Convention

Responding to demands for Mr Johnson to step down immediately, his official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is acting in line with convention.

“He remains Prime Minister until a new party leader is in place and the work of Government will continue while that takes place.”

But Mr Johnson has also sought to assuage concerns by vowing not to implement new policies in his remaining time in office and to leave any major tax and spending decisions to the next Prime Minister.

This pledge was reiterated by his spokesman, who said the Government “won’t seek to make any large fiscal changes, nor will it seek to unpick previously agreed policy”.

But it will push ahead with trying to force through deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda, as well as continuing contentious talks with the European Union over the Northern Ireland Protocol, he said.

“It’s not that the Government cannot continue to deal with challenging or long-standing issues; it is simply the convention to stick with delivering on pre-agreed policies,” the official said.