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Boris Johnson has pulled out of the Conservative leadership race.

His withdrawal leaves the path open for Rishi Sunak, who has a chance of picking up the keys to Downing Street as early as today.

The former prime minister had the public backing of 59 Tory MPs – far short of the 100 required to be included on the ballot.

The most Johnson way of admitting defeat

After a mad dash back from his Caribbean holiday, a flurry of canvassing, secret summits with rivals Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, and a significant pro-Johnson air war campaign, Boris Johnson announced shortly before 9pm on Sunday night he was not going to go for being PM again after all.

It was the most Boris Johnson way of admitting defeat: I am a winner who could deliver a Conservative victory in 2024, I have the numbers (he claimed 102 supporters), I could do it if I wanted to, but now is not the time.

Read Beth’s full analysis here.

Path to No 10 opens for Sunak – live updates

Mr Sunak has more than 150 backers, a significant lead over Penny Mordaunt, who has 25.

If both of them secure support from at least 100 MPs by this afternoon, Conservative Party members will have the chance to vote for their preferred candidate.

We’ll find out at 2pm who has made it on to the ballot – and if Mr Sunak is the only one to reach this threshold, he will automatically become the UK’s third prime minister this year.

More on Boris Johnson

You can find out more about today’s key timings here, with live coverage on Sky News throughout the day.

In his statement, Mr Johnson said he had “cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations”, but came to the conclusion that “this is simply not the right time”.

He said he had “reached out” to leadership rivals Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt to see if they could work together in the national interest, but it had not proved possible.

Mr Johnson added that although he was “attracted” to run because of the support from his colleagues, “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament”.

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What would it take to force a general election?

In response, Mr Sunak tweeted: “Although he has decided not to run for PM again, I truly hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”

One of Mr Johnson’s key allies told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby that he had said he thinks two-thirds of the party are against him and that he would be unable to govern like Liz Truss.

Another ally said the anti-Johnson coalition in parliament is “very loud” and “very motivated”.

The first Johnson backer to publicly switch to Mr Sunak was Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor, who tweeted “a day is a long time in politics”.

He had only endorsed Mr Johnson on Sunday morning.

Read more:
Why Johnson dropped out – in his own words
Who are bookies backing to be the next PM?

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Johnson a ‘guaranteed disaster’

On Sunday, several long-time allies of Mr Johnson – including Suella Braverman and Steve Baker – threw their support behind Mr Sunak.

Mr Baker, the former head of backbench Brexiteers, had warned Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday that a potential comeback by Mr Johnson would be a “guaranteed disaster”.

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Hamas responds to disarmament reports as health officials say 18 killed in Israeli fire – including people trying to access food

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Hamas responds to disarmament reports as health officials say 18 killed in Israeli fire - including people trying to access food

Hamas has said it will not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.

The militant group said it was issuing a statement “in response to media reports quoting US envoy Steve Witkoff, claiming [Hamas] has shown willingness to disarm”.

It continued: “We reaffirm that resistance and its arms are a legitimate national and legal right as long as the occupation continues.

“This right is recognised by international laws and norms, and it cannot be relinquished except through the full restoration of our national rights – first and foremost, the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Hamas also condemned Mr Witkoff’s visit to an aid distribution centre in Gaza on Friday as “nothing more than a premeditated staged show”.

Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Mr Witkoff and Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, visited a centre run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

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Trump envoy Witkoff visits Gaza

Hamas said the trip was “designed to mislead public opinion, polish the image of the occupation, and provide it with political cover for its starvation campaign and continued systematic killing of defenceless children and civilians in the Gaza Strip”.

Mr Witkoff said he spent “over five hours in Gaza”. In a post on X on Friday, he said: “The purpose of the visit was to give [President Trump] a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.”

Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, August 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters

Elidalis Burges, a critical care nurse in Gaza, told Sky News she saw the US visit as a “PR stunt” and that the American officials were “just being shown a small portion of what is actually happening”.

“I think the visit to the GHF site was just a controlled visit dictated by the Israeli military,” she said. “If they really wanted people to see what is happening here, they would allow international journalists from around the world to enter.

“They would allow the leaders of the world to come here and see.”

Hamas releases hostage video

It comes as Hamas released a video showing Israeli man, Evyatar David, being held hostage in what appears to be a tunnel.

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Video released of Israeli hostage

Mr David was taken from the Nova Music Festival on 7 October 2023.

His family have given permission for media outlets to show the video.

More than a dozen killed by Israeli fire

Gaza health officials have said 18 people, including eight who were trying to access food, were killed by Israeli fire on Saturday.

Witness Yahia Youssef told Reuters news agency he helped carry three people wounded by gunshots and saw others lying on the ground near a food distribution centre.

In response to questions about several eyewitness accounts of violence at one of its facilities, GHF said “nothing [happened] at or near our sites”.

Read more:
Doctor says colleague ‘followed and killed by drone’
‘Little confidence’ in US officials seeing full picture

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The US and Israel-backed GHF has been marred by controversy and fatal shootings ever since it was set up earlier this year.

According to the United Nations’ human rights office, at least 859 people have been killed “in the vicinity” of GHF aid sites since late May.

Dr Tom Adamkiewicz, who is working at a hospital in Gaza, has said Palestinian children, women and men are “being shot at, basically like rabbits”.

It is a “level of barbarity I don’t think the world has seen”, he told Sky News.

The Israel Defence Forces has repeatedly said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians” and has blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.

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Gaza deaths increase when aid sites open

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and abducted 251 others. Of those, they still hold around 50, with 20 believed to be alive, after most of the others were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count.

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North Korea’s opened its doors to Russian tourists. So… how was their holiday?

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North Korea's opened its doors to Russian tourists. So... how was their holiday?

The world’s most secretive state is a mystery for billions of people – but not Anastasiya Samsonova.

She has returned from a week’s holiday in North Korea.

“We saw nothing terrible there, there is no danger there,” the 33-year-old HR manager tells me.

“Frankly speaking, we really liked it.”

She was part of a group of 15 Russian tourists who were the first foreign visitors to a new seaside resort, which was opened to great fanfare by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in June.

Her holiday snaps show a white sand beach, shimmering seas and high-rise hotels. But something’s missing – people.

Russian tourist Anastasiya Samsonova at the Wonsan-Kalma beach resort in North Korea. Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova
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Anastasiya Samsonova at the Wonsan-Kalma beach resort in North Korea. Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova

There are rows of sun loungers, but not a soul sitting on them. A glittering banquet hall that’s devoid of diners.

That’s because, when it comes to international tourists, the Wonsan-Kalma resort is currently only open to Russians.

“The hotel was absolutely new,” Anastasiya enthuses, unfussed by the absence of others.

“Everything was done very beautifully, a good interior … very developed infrastructure.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae stand on the beach in Wonsan.
Pic: KCNA/Reuters
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Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae on the beach in Wonsan at the resort’s opening. Pic: KCNA/Reuters

Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae watch a person on a waterslide.
Pic: KCNA/Reuters
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The North Korean watching a slide at the resort. Pic: KCNA/Reuters

But why not Turkey? Or Thailand?

I gently suggest that people in Britain might be shocked at the idea of a summer break in a country better known for famines and forced labour than parasols and pina coladas.

“We were interested in seeing how people live there,” Anastasiya explains.

“There were a lot of prejudices about what you can and can’t do in North Korea, how you can behave. But actually, we felt absolutely free.”

Russian tourist Anastasiya Samsonova enjoying a meal on a train in North Korea. Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova
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Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova

Anastasiya is one of a growing number of Russians who are choosing to visit their reclusive neighbour as the two allies continue to forge closer ties following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, North Korean troops supplied military support in Russia’s Kursk region, and now there is economic cooperation too.

Russian tourist Anastasiya Samsonova reading a North Korean newspaper. Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova
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Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova

North Korean produce, including apples and beer, has started appearing on supermarket shelves in Russia’s far east.

And last month, Moscow launched direct passenger flights to Pyongyang for the first time in decades.

But can this hermit nation really become a holiday hotspot?

The Moscow office of the Vostok Intur travel agency believes so. The company runs twice-weekly tours there, and I’m being given the hard sell.

North Korean apples on sale in Russia. Pic: Danil Biryukov / DVHAB.RU
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Pic: Danil Biryukov / DVHAB.RU

“North Korea is an amazing country, unlike any other in the world,” director Irina Kobeleva gushes, before listing some unusual highlights.

“It is a country where you will not see any advertising on the streets. And it is very clean – even the asphalt is washed.”

She shows me the brochures, which present a glossy paradise. There are images of towering monuments, pristine golf greens and immaculate ski slopes. But again, no people.

Irina Kobeleva, director of Vostok Intur travel's Moscow office
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‘There is a huge growing demand among young people,’ Irina Kobeleva says

Ms Kobeleva insists the company’s tours are increasingly popular, with 400 bookings a month.

“Our tourists are mostly older people who want to return to the USSR,” she says, “because there is a feeling that the real North Korea is very similar to what was once in the Soviet Union.

“But at the same time, there is a huge growing demand among young people.”

Sure enough, while we’re chatting, two customers walk in to book trips. The first is Pavel, a young blogger who likes to “collect” countries. North Korea will be number 89.

“The country has opened its doors to us, so I’m taking this chance,” he tells me when I ask why he wants to go.

Read more from Sky News:
Trump’s tariffs are back – here’s who is in his sights this time
Coca-Cola and Brewdog beer on Russian shelves despite sanctions

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For pensioner Tatiana, the reason is sentimental.

“My husband wanted to go there, but now he’s gone. So I want his wish to come true,” she says.

It’ll certainly cost them. One week’s trip that takes in Pyongyang, a circus and the new beach resort, costs roughly £1,500 without flights.

At that price, I suspect most tourists will be content for this secretive state to remain hidden.

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‘Drone followed Gaza colleague home and wiped out his family’, says British doctor

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'Drone followed Gaza colleague home and wiped out his family', says British doctor

A British doctor who has just returned from Gaza says a drone followed her colleague home where it wiped out his family.

Nada Al Hadithy also told Sky News presenter Matt Barbet. how one of her patients, a 21-year-old woman who was six months pregnant, lost her baby after she was “blown up in her tent”.

“Her husband was killed, she lost her eye, she had an open fracture, and both her legs were completely destroyed from the bomb blast,”

“This woman is completely emaciated, with no vitamins, no food. And one day her baby stopped moving.”

It comes after Donald Trump‘s Middle East envoy visited a food distribution site in Gaza.

Steve Witkoff and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site in the southern city of Rafah on Friday.

The Israeli-backed American contractor’s efforts to deliver food to the region have been mired in violence and controversy, with hundreds killed by Israeli fire while walking to such aid sites since May, according to eyewitnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office.

Israel‘s military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approached its forces, while GHF said its armed contractors have only fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

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Trump envoy Witkoff visits Gaza

Ms Hadithy said the situation in Gaza is “absolutely desperate” and a school classroom’s worth of children “are dying every single day”.

She said there was “a tangible difference in the amount of starvation and the emaciation of our patients” during the three weeks she was in Gaza, adding: “Even the severity of and relentlessness of the bombings was worse.

“It was mass casualty after mass casualty, with people being blown up in their tents, which were meant to be in green zones. The situation was catastrophic.”

She said one colleague – who she described as “patient, joyful and hardworking” – was followed home one day by a quadcopter drone, according to eyewitness testimony from fellow medical workers.

The drone “didn’t kill him on the route where he was on his own, it waited until he was in his tent and greeted his three children and killed all of them”, she added.

During her time in Gaza, Ms Hadithy said she saw “emaciated children”, adding: “So now you’ve got two million starving people in [an area] the same size as Exeter, which in our country and in our census in 2021 had 130,000 people in it.

“That’s two million people with no water, no sanitation, no food, no medical supplies.”

Ms Hadithy also said Gazan health workers themselves are starving. “Never before have I seen such dignified, committed people,” she added.

Read more:
Sky News unveils pattern of deadly Israeli attacks on families
Explainer: What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?

In a post on X, Mr Witkoff said he had spent more than five hours inside Gaza to gain “a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza”.

He did not request any meetings with UN officials in Gaza during the visit, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

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Aid dropped into Gaza

The war began when Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and abducted 251 others. Of those, they still hold around 50, with 20 believed to be alive, after most of the others were released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has been approached for a comment.

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