"They have decided that it is time to vote to take back control from an EU that has become too remote, too opaque and not accountable enough to the people it is meant to serve," the 52-year-old Conservative leader said.
The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May was plunged into turmoil.
The UK PM was bound by law to issue a letter seeking a delay to Brexit after MPs voted in a historic Super Saturday Parliament session to delay voting on his motion on a new Brexit deal.
Johnson, 58, had been under investigation by a parliamentary inquiry looking into whether he misled the House of Commons about lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson, the former foreign secretary, secured 92,153 votes against 46,656 of his rival Jeremy Hunt in the battle for 10 Downing Street.
After the big blow of losing his chancellor Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid in quick succession, a flurry of junior ministerial and government aide resignations hit embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday as he fought the latest challenge to his leadership.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was supposed to be the chief guest at Republic Day, but due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the UK and the spread of a new strain, he cancelled his visit. Johnson is scheduled to visit India in April.
Johnson becomes the 14th Prime Minister to be appointed by Queen Elizabeth II, the 55th to hold the post of British PM and the third in fairly quick succession since Britain voted to leave the EU in June 2016 - following on from David Cameron and Theresa May.
'It is never a good idea to let the broad population determine policy that is the domain of experts and specialists,' notes Aakar Patel.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday finally agreed to step down as Conservative Party leader, triggering a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will go on to become the new premier, according to reports from Downing Street.
A referendum 10 years ago on this day set the United Kingdom on a new path as a non-member of the European Union (EU) and the turmoil of that Brexit vote continues to play out as the country prepares for its seventh prime minister in a decade.
The former Cabinet minister received 114 votes in the first round of a secret ballot of Tory MPs held in the House of Commons, followed by United Kingdom foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in second place with 43 and environment secretary Michael Gove third with 37 votes.
With Rishi Sunak now firmly placed as the candidate to beat, the battle lines are drawn for second place in the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister, with the remaining five contenders set for their first public clash on Friday.
'We don't need to hinge India-UK relations on shared hostility toward China,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday said he was sad to announce his resignation as Conservative Party leader, triggering a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will go on to become the new PM.
May announced her first big shake-up just minutes after entering Downing Street on Wednesday.
Sir Graham Brady, who is in-charge of collating the letters of no-confidence received by the 1922 Committee, said the threshold of 15 per cent of the Tory parliamentary party, or 54 MPs, seeking such a vote has been met and it will place on Monday evening in the House of Commons.
Apart from May, the four other contenders for the Conservative leadership and prime ministership are Stephen Crabb, Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom.
Johnson will be only the second British leader since Indian independence to attend the annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi as Guest of Honour, after former prime minister John Major in 1993.
The UK became the first country to exit the economic bloc after 47 years of membership following the vote in favour of Brexit in June 2016.
The government had already indicated that it would pull its own motion on Johnson's "great new deal" and move it to next week if MPs were to back the delay amendment, introduced as an insurance policy against a default no-deal crash-out by the month-end deadline.
Voters gave Johnson the huge mandate so that he can get the UK out of the European Union by January -- no ifs, no buts.
Johnson reacted to media speculation on Twitter by dismissing any rebellion.
The United Kingdom's Brexit minister, David Frost, has resigned over disagreements with the Prime Minister Boris Johnson on a number of issues, including COVID-19 measures.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed in a statement on Thursday that the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Bill has cleared its parliamentary stages and is now awaiting Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II before it goes on for EU ratification.
His visit to India followed a few cancelled plans since he took office in July 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis, with the two leaders holding several virtual talks and eventually meeting in person on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last November.
It would be the biggest Conservative victory since 1987, the poll suggests.
The unexpected development took place after opposition Labour Party supported the bill moved by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Britain's ruling party is suffering a leadership challenge with Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson dramatically resigning over their inability to support the terms and conditions drawn up to exit the European Union.
We now face further uncertainty, Johnson told the House of Commons after the final of 2 important votes.
Following the vote, Johnson attacked the opposition parties, asserting they wanted to delay Brexit again.
The 80-page bill, which follows a last-minute deal agreed with the EU last week, just days before the December 31 deadline of the end of the Brexit transition period, was debated by MPs in the House of Commons followed by the House of Lords.
The bill will now go to the House of Lords on Monday for voting before royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II to become law.
Rishi Sunak speaks at a Conservative Friends of India event at the Dhamecha Lohana centre in Harrow, London.
Johnson's first visit to India as United Kingdom prime minister will begin on April 21 with a trip to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, which is Prime Minister Modi's home state.
'We have got Brexit done and we can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world,' Downing Street said in a statement.
Following is the chronology of the main events illustrating Sunak's second shot at UK prime minister's post.
Johnson suspended, or prorogued, parliament for five weeks earlier this month, saying it was to allow for a Queen's Speech to outline policies of his new government.
If rebel MPs from his own Tory party and Opposition benches succeed in uniting and seeing the motion through, it would force Johnson's hand on seeking an extension to the Brexit deadline from the EU at least until January 31, 2020, in the event that no withdrawal agreement is agreed between both sides by the middle of October.
Sunak joins fellow Indian-origin candidate Suella Braverman, the UK Attorney General who is among the early Tory MPs to announce her plan to contest.
