Who is in the running to replace Liz Truss as prime minister?
Just two days ago Liz Truss declared she was a “fighter, not a quitter” in a defiant exchange with the leader of the opposition – a little over 24 hours later she had resigned.
Here, Sky News looks at the runners and riders to replace the prime minister.
Live politics updates as third cabinet member backs Johnson
The leader of the Commons was the first to announce a bid to become the next prime minister.
“I’ve been encouraged by support from colleagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest,” she said in a post on social media.
“I’m running to be the leader of the Conservative Party and your prime minister – to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next GE.”
She finished in third place in this summer’s Tory leadership race before she backed Ms Truss’s bid.
The former defence secretary caused a stir at the Tory conference earlier this month when she said the party’s “comms is s***”.
In messages shared in Conservative Party WhatsApp groups, leaked to Sky News, Tory MP Crispin Blunt called for Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt to take over.
“Step forward Rishi and Penny, with our support and encouragement in the interests of us all,” he wrote.
Ms Mordaunt was sent to the Commons on behalf of Ms Truss to answer an urgent question on the sacking of former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Monday. She denied that Ms Truss was hiding “under a desk”.
Former Commons leader Andrea Leadsom is among those who have publicly declared their backing of Ms Mordaunt.
The former chancellor, who was runner-up to Ms Truss in the Tory leadership race, is favourite with the bookmakers to replace her.
He warned his rival her tax-cutting plans would send the economy into freefall, accusing her of “fairytale economics” as she promised unfunded tax cuts.
Following the fallout from the mini-budget, supporters of Mr Sunak believe he has been vindicated. One MP who supported him in the leadership race told The Telegraph: “Everything he said has come to pass.”
Mr Sunak won every voting round among MPs in the Tory leadership race but there are question marks over whether he could reunite the party, having been seen to have played a key role in Boris Johnson’s exit as PM.
Many MPs have come out in support of the former chancellor, the most notable being former deputy PM Dominic Raab and former environment secretary George Eustice.
In his farewell address as PM, Mr Johnson fuelled speculation about a future return to frontline politics despite promising his “most fervent support” to his successor Ms Truss.
Mr Johnson compared himself to Roman statesman Cincinnatus, who battled against invasion before returning to his farm. According to tradition, Cincinnatus later returned to serve a second term.
Some Tory MPs are reportedly openly suggesting the party asks Mr Johnson to return to Downing Street, despite being ousted just three months ago.
Read more:
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Resignations, reversals and rebellion – the 44 days of Liz Truss’s premiership
Former culture secretary and ally of the former PM, Nadine Dorries, is one of those openly calling for Mr Johnson’s return.
“Only one MP has a mandate from party members and from the British public – a mandate with an 80 seat majority. Boris Johnson,” she said.
Jacob Rees-Mogg was the first cabinet minister to publicly declare his backing for the former prime minister, posting on social media: “I’m backing Boris #BorisorBust.”
In ruling himself out of the race, Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said he is “leaning towards Boris Johnson”.
Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke has also expressed his support for Mr Johnson’s return.
Sky News also understands former home secretary Priti Patel will back Mr Johnson if he chooses to run.
Although multiple Tory MPs have expressed their support for a Johnson comeback, he remains a divisive figure.
Foreign Office minister Jesse Norman said selecting Mr Johnson as Conservative leader would be “absolutely catastrophic”.
Sir Roger Gale, the senior backbencher, reminded voters in a tweet that the former prime minister, who resigned in a mire of sleaze, remains under investigation by the Commons privileges committee for potentially misleading the House over partygate.
If found guilty, Mr Johnson could face recall proceedings and potentially lose his seat in a by-election if he receives a suspension of 10 days or more.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for Mr Johnson to be blocked from standing as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister.
Ms Braverman was the first to declare she was running to be the next Conservative Party leader in the summer, praised as a figurehead of the right of the party for her hardline views on Brexit and for denouncing “woke nonsense”.
She threw her hat in the ring for the Tory leadership even before Mr Johnson had officially resigned.
“I love this country. My parents came here with absolutely nothing and it was Britain that gave them hope, security and opportunity and afforded me incredible opportunities in education and my career,” she told ITV at the time.
“I owe a debt of gratitude to this country and to serve as prime minister would be the greatest honour so yes I will try.”
After her shock resignation as home secretary on Wednesday for sharing secure information through a private email, Ms Braverman lashed out at Ms Truss’s “tumultuous” premiership and accused the government of “breaking key pledges” – including on immigration policy.
Ms Braverman, a former attorney general, only became home secretary on 6 September when Ms Truss brought her in to replace Priti Patel.
Her tenure was controversial, having accused Tory critics, who successfully forced Ms Truss into U-turning over plans to scrap the top rate of income tax, of a “coup”.
A source close to rising star Kemi Badenoch has suggested to Sky News that she is set to stand in the leadership contest.
“Now that the prime minister has announced her resignation, the party must unite around a new leader who restores trust in politics and delivers good government for the British people,” the source said.
“Kemi is in conversations with colleagues about how best to achieve this.”
Ms Badenoch stood in the Conservative leadership race over the summer, coming fourth behind Mr Sunak, Ms Mordaunt and Ms Truss.
Little known beyond Tory circles at the start of the race, the former equalities minister was a favourite among members to the right of the party.
Her summer campaign focused on cultural issues which she said had divided the party in recent years.
Sky News understands the current justice secretary is taking soundings on whether to stand in the leadership election.
It is understood he could stand on a possible platform of being a pragmatist and a unifier.
Mr Lewis did not stand in the last leadership election, instead backing outgoing PM Liz Truss.
He has also served as Northern Ireland secretary.
It is an earthquake for the MAGA ecosystem.
Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene were a formidable alliance on the Republican Party’s hard-right flank.
For years, the congresswoman for Georgia embodied the combative, conspiracy-tinged politics that define Trump’s presidency.
She called him “the father of the America First movement,” campaigned to be his running mate, and was quick to defend him.
“David Cameron can kiss my ass,” she told Sky News when asked about the former UK Prime Minister’s concerns about US fading support for Ukraine.
Door-stepped by my colleague Martha Kelner, she said: “We don’t give a crap about your country or your reporting.
“The Trump administration is doing a great job and I stand by their statements,” she added.
“I’m thankful to President Trump that he is leading us out of wars.”
Watch Sky’s Martha Kelner’s encounter with Taylor Greene from earlier this year…
But in recent months, she had expressed concerns about Trump’s involvement in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere.
It escalated when she stood with victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to demand justice and joined Democrats in demanding a vote on the release of all files.
Just days ago, President Trump told reporters Taylor Greene had “lost her way”, but something triggered a war of words late on Friday.
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‘Shame on everyone that protected Epstein’
The president had taken questions on Air Force One, with two reporters citing Taylor Green’s demand that the files be released.
Moments later, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he was withdrawing his endorsement of the congresswoman.
He branded her a “ranting lunatic”, “wacky Marjorie”, and said all she ever does is “COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN.”
Her reply came very quickly, in a post claiming she had sent the president text messages about Jeffrey Epstein.
“Apparently this is what sent him over the edge. The Epstein Files,” she posted.
Read more on Jeffrey Epstein:
Ghislaine Maxwell ‘wants Trump to commute sentence’
What Epstein’s right-hand woman said about Trump and Andrew
She accused him of “coming after” her to “scare all the other Republicans” before next week’s vote to release the Epstein files.
“It’s astonishing how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level,” she added.
For years, they were joined at the hip – Trump the movement’s figurehead, Taylor Greene its megaphone – but it has now descended into open hostility.
Epstein, the story that won’t go away, has just cost Trump one of his most loyal allies, and rocked the internal dynamics of his political movement.
At least nine people have been killed and 32 injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The accidental blast occurred late on Friday in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, as forensic and police personnel were evaluating the explosive material, according to police director-general Nalin Prabhat.
Most of the dead were officers and forensic staff, police said, adding that several of the injured remained in a critical condition.
The massive explosion tore through the police station, setting the building and several vehicles on fire.
“The intensity of the blast was such that some body parts were recovered from nearby houses, around 100-200m away from the police station,” a police source said.
A series of smaller successive blasts slowed rescue operations.
A police official lays flowers on a coffin at a ceremony for the victims. Pic: Reuters
The police station blast comes just days after a deadly car explosion in New Delhi on Monday, which killed at least eight people near the city’s historic Red Fort.
The car explosion occurred hours after police in Kashmir said they had dismantled a suspected militant cell operating from the region, arresting at least seven people, including two doctors from Indian cities.
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Police also seized a large quantity of bomb-making material in Faridabad, near New Delhi.
Indian security forces have conducted multiple raids across Kashmir during their investigation, questioning hundreds and detaining dozens.
Relatives protest following the blast. Pic: Reuters
Authorities said DNA testing identified the car’s driver as a Kashmiri doctor, and government forces demolished his family home in Pulwama district on Thursday night.
In the past, security forces have demolished the homes of individuals they allege were linked to militants opposing Indian rule in Kashmir as a form of punishment.
India and Pakistan both claim all of Kashmir, though each controls only part of the territory.
Militants in the Indian-administered region have been fighting against New Delhi since 1989, with India labeling it Pakistan-backed terrorism.
Pakistan denies the claim, saying that many Kashmiris view it as a legitimate struggle for independence.
World
Donald Trump withdraws support for Marjorie Taylor Greene after she calls for Epstein files to be released
Donald Trump has withdrawn support for Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene – which she claims is over her support for releasing files about Jeffrey Epstein.
In comments made on Truth Social, Mr Trump said he would support any challenger who wants to take Ms Greene’s seat in Georgia.
It comes after weeks of the MAGA ally breaking ranks from the president – and according to a post on X after his withdrawal, she believes it’s over a possible vote on releasing all of the Epstein files.
Read more: Marjorie Taylor Greene – the MAGA ally known for embracing conspiracies and insulting journalists
After the US government shutdown ended, a petition to vote on the full release of the files about disgraced pedophile financier Epstein received enough signatures – including Ms Greene’s – to bring it to a vote in the House of Representatives.
While such a vote does not yet have a date, Mr Trump has called the files a “hoax” and accused the Democrats of using them “to try and deflect from their disastrous SHUTDOWN”.
Earlier this week, thousands of documents from Epstein were released, which reference Mr Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson, among others.
Read more: What do Epstein documents say about Trump, Andrew and Mandelson?
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The new Epstein files: The key takeaways
Trump attacks ‘Wacky’ Majorie
In his post on Truth Social overnight, Mr Trump said: “all I see “Wacky” Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!
“It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement – which she wasn’t about to get!).”
The president went on to claim “she has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore”, before adding: “I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day.
“I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support.”
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Will new Epstein emails hurt Trump?
Greene: Trump’s fight to stop files ‘astonishing’
Around an hour later, Ms Greene responded on X to say “President Trump just attacked me and lied about me”, and shared text messages to him and a White House aide about releasing information on the deceased pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Of course he’s coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next weeks vote to release the Epstein files,” she added on social media.
“It’s astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level.”
Read more: Why this is dangerous terrain for Trump
Marjorie Taylor Greene was an ardent supporter of MAGA and became a Republican Congresswoman in 2021. File pic: AP
She then said “most Americans wish he would fight this hard to help the forgotten men and women of America… that’s what I voted for”.
“I have supported President Trump with too much of my precious time, too much of my own money, and fought harder for him even when almost all other Republicans turned their back and denounced him,” she added.
“But I don’t worship or serve Donald Trump… I remain the same today as I’ve always been and I will continue to pray this administration will be successful because the American people desperately deserve what they voted for.”
Watch Sky’s Martha Kelner’s encounter with Greene from earlier this year…
Earlier this week, Mr Trump accused the MAGA loyalist of “catering to the other side” after she criticised his focus on foreign policy, which she described as “America Last”.
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Trump rebukes MAGA ally over foreign policy
Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking charges and was accused of running a “vast network” of underage girls for sex. He pleaded not guilty.
Following a conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008, he was registered as a sex offender.
It comes after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee published several emails, which they said “raises questions about Trump and Epstein’s relationship, Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s crimes”, and the president’s relationship to Epstein’s victims.
Mr Trump has consistently denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and called claims linking him to the financier a “hoax”.
Read more on Jeffrey Epstein:
Ghislaine Maxwell ‘wants Trump to commute sentence’
What Epstein’s right-hand woman said about Trump and Andrew
The White House also said the “selectively leaked emails” were an attempt to “create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”.
Republicans retaliated by releasing more than 20,000 pages from Epstein’s files and accusing Democrats of “cherry-picking” their documents.
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