Boris Johnson

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is now the strong favorite to become Britain's next prime minister — the third this year — at a time of political turmoil and severe economic challenges.

Following the resignation of Liz Truss as Britain's fourth prime minister in a little over six years, her Conservative Party — in power since 2010 — is racing to select a replacement.

Johnson is mired in yet another scandal that has his own allies quitting on him.

Britain's prime minister steps down as leader of the Conservative Party after a slew of members of his government said they could no longer serve under his scandal-tarred leadership.

His resignation will trigger an internal election to pick a new leader of the Conservative Party, who will also be the next prime minister. He steps down after defections left him unable to govern.

Two top ministers and a slew of more junior officials resigned this week, saying they could no longer serve under Johnson's scandal-tarred leadership. He narrowly got by a no-confidence vote in June.

Defeat in the two district contests increases jitters among Conservatives who worry the erratic and divisive prime minister is no longer an electoral asset.

Johnson was booed during the queen's Platinum Jubilee — the latest sign of intense public anger over his flouting of his own government's COVID-19 rules.

The investigative report cited a failure in leadership among the prime minister and other top British officials for allowing boozy government parties that broke lockdown rules.

The British leader's office says he will be fined for breaching COVID regulations following allegations of lockdown parties at government offices. It's unclear how much Johnson will be fined.