UK’s Johnson in farewell speech pledges support for Truss at 'tough time'

The outgoing British prime minister Boris Johnson delivered his farewell speech on Tuesday, highlighting his government’s record on Brexit, Ukraine and COVID-19, and pledging support for his successor during a "tough time".

Speaking in front of the famous black door of number 10 Downing Street, Johnson highlighted his government's export of lethal arms to Ukraine and thanked people "who organized those prompt early supplies of weapons", an action he said may have “changed the course of the biggest European war in decades”.

The scandal-marred Tory leader blamed Russia for the economic crisis in the UK and said Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot “bully” Britons.

“I know that Liz Truss and this compassionate Conservative government will do everything we can to get people through this crisis and this country will endure it and we will win and if Putin thinks that he can succeed by blackmailing or bullying the British people then he is utterly deluded," he remarked.

The outgoing premier, who formally leaves the office on Tuesday, boasted about his government's achievements in the last three years, saying he could get the challenging Brexit done and deliver “the fastest vaccine roll out in Europe”.

Only one in seven Britons say Truss will be better than Johnson, poll reveals

More than a quarter of people in the UK believe the new Prime Minister Liz Truss will be worse than her predecessor Boris Johnson, according to a new poll.

Johnson said he will continue to play an active role in British politics.

“Let me say that I am now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function and I will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the Pacific," he stated.

Johnson also offered “fervent support” to the incoming prime minister Liz Truss’ government during a “tough time” for households across the country.

He will travel to Balmoral, in Aberdeenshire, where he will tender his formal resignation to Queen Elizabeth II, who will, in turn, appoint Truss as the new prime minister - the third female to hold the high office in the country's history.

“In only a couple of hours I will be in Balmoral to see Her Majesty the Queen and the torch will finally be passed to a new Conservative leader, the baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race, they changed the rules halfway through but never mind that now,” Johnson said.

Truss is set to form a new government, with the country facing skyrocketing inflation, which has caused the worsening cost-of-living crisis in the UK.

The new prime minister, who has promised tax cuts to relieve the burden of a toxic economic situation on people, has said that she is going to set out “immediate action” in her first week on the job to tackle rising energy bills and to increase energy supplies.

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