Boris Johnson refuses to give his backing to any candidate vying to replace him as British prime minister

In his first public appearance since being forced to quit, Boris Johnson on Monday refused to give his backing to any candidate vying to replace him as British prime minister.

With the Conservative party expected to outline a timetable, 11 hopefuls have declared their intention to stand in the internal leadership contest.

When asked if he would endorse a successor, Johnson said "The job of the prime minister at this stage is to let the party decide, let them get on with it, and to continue delivering on the projects that we were elected to deliver."

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The 58-year-old leader, who won a landslide 80-seat victory in 2019, announced his departure as Conservative party leader last Thursday.

Johnson had a spectacular fall from grace after being hit by waves of scandal including holding lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and appointing a senior colleague despite knowing of sexual assault allegations against him.

This sparked a frenzy of resignations which forced Johnson to quit after which he blamed the "herd" for moving against him.

''There's a contest underway and that has happened and you know, I wouldn't want to damage any chances by offering my support,'' Johnson said.

After the latest in a series of scandals broke their willingness to support him, Johnsonwas deserted by all but a handful of allies.

(With inputs from agencies)

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