Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
British Prime Ministers Boris Johnson Resigns; Zelenskyy: Western Artillery "Working Very Powerfully"; Source Close To Griner: Decision To Plead Guilty To Charges In Russia Was Made By Griner Alone. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired July 07, 2022 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:50]
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a very warm welcome. I'm Isa Soares coming to you from outside the House of Parliament, London, which just gone 5:00 p.m. here. It is a momentous day in British politics, marking really the end of what has been a controversial as well as explosive era. Boris Johnson announced he's resigning as conservative party leader against his own wishes. But he's vowing stay on as a caretaker Prime Minister until a new replacement is chosen.
In a speech outside 10 Downing Street, the embattled British leader was uncharacteristically succinct. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH CARETAKER PRIME MINISTER: To you, the British public, I know that there will be many people who were relieved and perhaps quite a few who'll also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them's the breaks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, some lawmakers are urging the Prime Ministers to step down now as the opposition leader, but enough is enough. Now you can hear the music playing here, just outside Parliament clearly the party is over for Boris Johnson. Max Foster looks at Boris Johnson's nearly three years as Prime Minister, a tenure that has been marred by scandal as well as cover ups as U.K. hurtle through Brexit and of course the coronavirus pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A tumultuous tenure. Boris Johnson's career was built on an everyman informality but defined by serious crises. He entered Downing Street on a pledge to finally take the United Kingdom out of the European Union. He finishes having shepherded the country through its worst crisis since World War II, a legacy largely defined now by his actions during the coronavirus pandemic, not Brexit. Johnson began his career like so many of his predecessors are the country's most elite schools. He cut his teeth as a journalist but were truly enter public life in 2001 as a member of parliament, and then in 2008 as London's mayor. He governed as a relative moderate and affable figure, famous for his high jinks during the 2012 Olympic Games. But it was the campaign over whether Britain should leave the European Union that would fuel his part of Downing Street.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know who this is? Does everybody know? He's going to be a fantastic Prime Minister. I can tell you.
FOSTER (voice-over): He tried to maintain his comedic character. He suspended parliament and muscled through a Brexit deal fairly similar to his predecessors. 2019 was meant to be a year for realizing his Brexit vision. Then came coronavirus.
From the start, he was accused of not taking the virus seriously enough.
JOHNSON: I'm shaking hands (INAUDIBLE). I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were a few -- there were actually a few coronavirus patients, and I shook hands with everybody. You'll be pleased to know.
FOSTER (voice-over): Then the gravity of the pandemic hit home.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We learn moments ago that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus.
FOSTER (voice-over): Soon he was moved to hospital, then to intensive care. It was only weeks later that he returned home to Downing Street.
JOHNSON: Who stood by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either way.
FOSTER (voice-over): But his brush with death only removed the spotlight on his government's pandemic response for so long.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello Joyce (ph).
FOSTER (voice-over): The government had sent some elderly patients back to care homes from the hospitals. It had abandoned its mass testing regime early on and delayed locking down. A top adviser later said that decision likely cost tens of thousands of lives.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Three, two, one.
FOSTER (voice-over): Then Johnson controversially chose to lift all coronavirus restrictions in July 2021, bolstered by the country's successful vaccine program. Until the fast-spreading Omicron variants forced him to once again bring in new measures.
JOHNSON: We must act now.
FOSTER (voice-over): At the same time, allegations of multiple parties held inside Downing Street and by government aides during strict COVID restrictions the previous year emerged.
[12:05:10]
Dubbed party gate. The scandal ultimately sparked an investigation by senior civil servants Sue Gray, who criticized the culture of lockdown rule breaking events, including an illegal birthday party for Johnson himself in June 2020. Some of his closest aides were brought down by the scandal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm truly sorry.
JOHNSON: There was no party, and that --
FOSTER (voice-over): Johnson told parliament, there was no party and no COVID rules are broken. But after the Sue Gray report, the Prime Minister eventually conceded.
JOHNSON: She's identified a number of failings, some official, some political, and some that I accept to entirely my own, for which I take full responsibility.
FOSTER (voice-over): The damage had been done.
JOHNSON: And we can win --
FOSTER (voice-over): Johnson's career was rocketed as a champion of Brexit, when he said would level up the country bring new trade deals and new prosperity. He leaves Downing Street with a legacy now defined and ended by COVID-19 and his response.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: The big question now, what happens next? Boris Johnson says he will give as much support as he can to the new leader but he also seemed to indicate he may not bow out really gracefully. CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now from outside 10 Downing Street. And Nada, talk us through the options here and what you are hearing from those within his Cabinet, those within the Conservative Party who may want this to speed up to -- this process to be a bit sped up here.
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Isa. Well, we heard from Boris Johnson earlier speaking at Downing Street, announcing and confirming here that he is stepping down from office but not giving it here a timeline as to when he would actually be finally severing ties with Number 10. And of course, the party process currently in place for the election of a new leader of the Conservative Party is indeed a lengthy process. It could take months.
And, of course, Boris Johnson has already said that he intends to stay in position potentially until the party conference in October. And, of course, for many Conservative MPs, from the ministers and senior Cabinet ministers who stepped down because they have -- they believe that the Prime Minister is no longer fit to lead the party and the government, that is simply unacceptable. We saw a little earlier that stunning intervention by former Prime Minister John Major saying that this is unwise and unsustainable for the Prime Minister to remain in this position. Boris Johnson has followed up with that resignation announcement, a statement here at Downing Street with another statement saying that I want you to know that from now until my successor is in place, your interest will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.
And we did see a little while ago, the newly appointed Cabinet ministers going into Downing Street that was an unusually short Cabinet meeting here at Number 10 behind me. The question is whether or not the Prime Minister can continue to command support from these newly appointed Cabinet ministers. It doesn't seem likely. Many are calling for him to step down sooner rather than later and for an interim caretaker Prime Minister to be put in place.
And the 1922 committee which sort of oversees that process will be meeting on Monday. We do expect them to outline a potential timeline, a timeframe for us to -- for when we may be able to see that newly elected leader of the Conservative Party. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still trying to hold on. The question is whether or not there is a clear front runner for an interim caretaker Prime Minister, who can push forward with these government plans over the next couple of months.
Clearly, there was no a lot of support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to stay in this position, despite the fact that he very well intends to do so until the autumn. Isa?
SOARES: Yes. And as we've been reporting now that for several days now we have seen kind of an avalanche, I think it's fair to say, of resignation. Some of these positions have been filled, though. Do we know, Nada, that those who have taken up these new positions, whether they are happily doing so, what is the really calculation they're making, given that Boris Johnson has agreed to step down?
BASHIR: Yes, well, that is an interesting point. These are essentially caretaker Cabinet ministers. They may not be in the job for long, they go into this, knowing that they may be -- if we do see a new Conservative Party leader, very quick reshuffle of the Cabinet. We saw them going in, not a lot of them looks particularly optimistic. It has to be said as they did go in for that Cabinet Office meeting.
Some have already announced their intention to run for the leader as leader of the Conservative Party, the party's Attorney General. We saw her going into the Cabinet Office meeting, as she has announced she then has lived on TV during an interview yesterday that she intends to run for a leader of the Conservative Party.
[12:10:04]
There are concerns as to whether or not the Prime Minister can unify these Cabinet ministers in order to push forward a central policies over the coming weeks. There were concerns previously, just yesterday, as we saw that, as you said, avalanche of resignations whether or not there actually any ministers left for the Prime Minister to appoint key essential government business going.
Prime Minister has now reappointed a new Cabinet. They are looking to push forward with those essential policies. But there is still very deep division in the party, not only with regards to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's position, as it currently stands now, but also of course, about essential policy areas. And so our concerns from voters, namely at the forefront of many constituents minds will be the cost of living crisis. That has really been a key concern for many.
But also there are questions as to whether or not there is trust in the Conservative Party as a whole. This is not just an issue for the Prime Minister anymore. We heard from the opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, saying this is not simply an issue at the top. There needs to be an overhaul here at 10 Downing Street, a new system a fresh start for Britain. And with that, he is expected to see a general election. And that, of course, won't go down well for the Conservative Party, who fear that they will fare poorly if there were to be a general election called sooner.
SOARES: Nada Bashir for us outside 10 Downing Street. Thanks very much, Nada.
Let's get more on all this. With me now is Bob Seely, British Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight. And Bob, great to have you with us. I'm just -- I was just looking at my phone because I just saw your one of your tweets from 23 hours ago, you said I believe we need a new prime minister to offer a renewed sense of purpose and lead. You tweet, a new team to meet our nation's challenges.
So Prime Minister is out, you pleased? Should he go quicker, sooner? What are your thoughts?
BOB SEELY, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: I'm not pleased because I supported Boris. And despite his thoughts, he was an important leader who brought a sense of solidity to, frankly, a chaotic political situation three years ago, and he deserves our thanks for doing that. He -- whether you agree with Brexit or not, and I voted for it. He mandate -- he respected the will of the people and he delivered on it. And he delivered a highly significant majority. So he had great achievements.
He got more right than wrong when it came to the vaccine and the coping with COVID. And belatedly, he got Russia right. Pretty belatedly, but he got Russia right. And as a result, he has been good and strong on Ukraine. Sadly, he's been brought down by his -- maybe his personal foibles, which is really sad.
I would, in the words of Macbeth, if it were done for well, it well done quickly. Now that Boris sadly has agreed to go, I think the sooner he went, the better. And the sooner we get a new leader, and the better. And we have a lot of very, very talented people. So I'm actually very confident about the future, we're going to have a renewed team, a new leader, a new government, and that would be good for our country. SOARES: But Bob, something I've been hearing from members of your party here outside the House of Parliament, is that they want this process to be expedited. They don't want, obviously --
SEELY: Yes.
SOARES: -- Boris Johnson to be at 10 Downing Street until the autumn. Where do you stand on this?
SEELY: I agree. You know, if Boris is going to resign, the quicker the process, the better. So I don't think it's particularly healthy if Boris stayed until October. But he's agreed to go, that's the important thing. And now we need to get in place a new leader as quickly as possible.
SOARES: But how is it -- are you hearing anything in terms of how quickly this can happen?
SEELY: I think people who declare over the weekend will have initial parliamentary hustings from next week onwards. And probably, within about 10 days or so, we'll get down to the final two candidates. This is going to be a quick process. This is not a U.S. style long drawn out process.
Probably by the date of recess -- so what is that -- going to be 21st of July, we will have two candidates. And then over the summer in August, you have serious plus things, you'll probably have the vote in September and you'll have a new leader of the Conservative Party by early September.
SOARES: And you think that's quick enough, do you think, Bob? Because what I've been hearing from people here is, you know, is the question of course about integrity, about trust, and that should come much quicker. But you're assured that that is the quickest it can happen, are you?
SEELY: Well, look, I mean, if Boris went tomorrow, you could have somebody like Dominic Raab stepping in, but there's going to be a process. It's going to be pretty speedy. And I think your correspondent was talking about labor saying there should be election. I mean, with great respect, Keir Starmer is under investigation, breaching locked down. He might be out of a job himself next week.
So the idea that the Labor Party actually wants --
SOARES: Yes.
SEELY: -- an election is for the birds. It's nonsense.
SOARES: And Bob, just bear with me, I know it's a bit loud here. Let me ask you this, we've got --
SEELY: It's very peaceful down here.
SOARES: -- (INAUDIBLE) I think we can bring up Becky (ph).
[12:15:05]
It looks beautiful where you are. Maybe we can swap places. But let me ask you this, Bob. In terms of front runners, I know many people haven't thrown their hat in the ring, who would be your favorite here?
SEELY: This Justice Department very strong. Ben Wallace has done a fantastic job as defense minister, Penny Mordaunt, who I think is going to be a very strong candidate, is going to be difficult to beat and she's very popular with the party. And I think she'd be very popular with the country.
Sajid has got a great story to tell. Sajid Javid lots of experience. And I think Rishi, you know, he's been inherited a really bad hand, but he did the best he could as Chancellor. And I think all those five candidates are very all of them would make excellent prime ministers and I would willingly work hard for any single one of them.
For me, probably between Liz and Penny and Ben. And I've got to decide which one of those and they've all got great qualities.
SOARES: Bob Seely joining us from the Isle of Wight, beautiful and peaceful and tranquil and quiet. Very different from out here. Bob, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
SEELY: Thank you.
SOARES: And coming up right here on CNN, from Brexit to partygate and scandal, what will Boris Johnson's legacy be? We'll look back just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back. One era of British politics is coming to a close and another will soon begin. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced he is resigning and this comes after rebellion within his own party spark but really a string of scandals. Mr. Johnson says he will serve as caretaker Prime Minister until another leader is chosen. This is what he had to say. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party, that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister. And I've agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now, and the timetable will be announced next week. And I've, today, appointed a Cabinet to serve as I will until a new leader is in place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: While many lawmakers within the Conservative Party and others say keeping Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street even temporarily is less than ideal.
[12:20:00] Well joining me now is Bim Afolami, he's a British Conservative Party Vice Chairman who announced live on television this week, earlier this week, that he was resigning. I'm guessing you're happy then that this has happened?
BIM AFOLAMI, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: Well, look, it's not about being happy. It was important that the Prime Minister resigned because the party had lost faith in Him. And indeed, I think the country has as well. And so it's the right outcome. And it's important now for us as a party to find the right new leader to take us forward over the next couple of years before the next general election.
SOARES: Before we talk about the new leader, Bim, let's talk a bit about the process here for our viewers, because we've had so much in terms of from other members of your party, the Conservative Party, who want this to be expedited, Boris Johnson to leave much quicker, much sooner, where do you stand on this? Can it be expedited? I mean, if we're looking at the autumn a moment?
AFOLAMI: The truth is, we need to make sure that we work quickly, but you've got to find the right leader. You can't do it all in one day. And so we have a new executive committee of the parliamentary Conservative Party --
SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: -- who can made this decision, called the 1922 committee that meets --
SOARES: Next week, right?
AFOLAMI: -- new elections on Monday.
SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: They will decide the timetable. But what I broadly understand is that we will have a new leader, a new prime minister by mid- September. Now that does not strike me as being sort of an extremely long period of time. It's very, very difficult for, you know, anything, you know, political, very political actions to happen in that time with Boris Johnson's caretaker government. But I think it's important that we do have a proper --
SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: -- process until that (INAUDIBLE).
SOARES: Understood. But for our international viewers just explaining, if we're waiting until September, October, if you've got policy decisions or legislations passed through, of course, as a war in Ukraine, that cost of living crisis, economic crisis, in terms of inflation, and stagflation. You know, how does this, with this caretaker government, what are you expecting, if it's about trust, and it's about integrity here?
AFOLAMI: So, in terms of legislation -- SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: -- we've got legislation already moving through, that will just continue. I don't anticipate --
SOARES: So that doesn't really --
AFOLAMI: I don't anticipate that being too difficult. There won't be new legislation sort of that none of us have seen that comes through. In terms of just actions that may have to be taken due to random things happening maybe every August, maybe something to do with Ukraine or Russia --
SOARES: Yes, it makes them happen. Yes.
AFOLAMI: -- ultimately, we have a functioning state, we have ministers that have appointed. And obviously, we have a parliamentary party that is there all the time. If there were any instance where a minister or the prime minister did something that people didn't feel was appropriate, then, of course, that can always be fixed by the parliamentary party. And I think that we have enough trust as a party in the way how we run ourselves, that we can govern ourselves going through (INAUDIBLE).
SOARES: We've seen so many resignations. I mean, I know we've got a running party, but you've seen more other, I've lost track now the number of resignations.
AFOLAMI: So bad.
SOARES: So --
AFOLAMI: Yes.
SOARES: -- you feel that it can still function as a party?
AFOLAMI: I suspect that a lot of the resignations will now be undone, and people will act in a temporary capacity for the next month or two, just to make sure that business is executed properly. But I wouldn't focus too much on that technical point.
SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: The overall point is this. The Prime Minister has agreed to resign because he's lost faith of the party. We are now going through the process of electing a new leader and a new prime minister, that will happen very soon after people get back from their summer holidays.
SOARES: And if the Prime Minister, the outgoing Prime Minister, if he asked you to take an opposition to come into Cabinet, what would you say? Would you accept?
AFOLAMI: Well, I strongly suspect --
SOARES: Knowing that he is of course departing? AFOLAMI: I strongly suspect that having resigned from my position live on TV, it's highly unlikely, I'd be honest to serve to my capacity.
SOARES: Let's talk about candidates. I think we've got a little graphic looking at the possible candidates here, who I know some of them have been throwing their hat in the ring. Who would you say is the favorite so far, in your opinion?
AFOLAMI: It's impossible.
SOARES: And then you can tell me it's like we're having one of my children, I can't pick, is that what you going to tell me? Is what I hear often, oh, I can't pick amongst your children.
AFOLAMI: I'm not quite sure I describe my colleagues as my children. My children are better behaved. No.
SOARES: That's one, two.
AFOLAMI: I think that what we need --
SOARES: There you go.
AFOLAMI: -- is we need a leader who can appeal to all parts of the country.
SOARES: OK.
AFOLAMI: Who can definitely bring a new generation forward. Look, I'm 36. I'm a relatively new MP. I think it's really important that we hear voices from my generation.
SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: Very much with the leadership of the party. I also think it's important that we have somebody who absolutely shows the public that they can manage on day one, the economic capabilities.
SOARES: Give me a name. Give me one -- just give me two name, give me three names who you think. Because, you know, we've been hearing --
AFOLAMI: OK.
SOARES: -- Ben Wallace is doing very well in terms of a poll that we've seen today, most the Conservative Party, but I've had various names, various MP.
AFOLAMI: Ronald Reagan, once said, you know, never speak ill of a fellow conservative, or indeed do think so about the Republicans.
SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: But anyway, he's making the point. So I'm not going to say anything bad about anybody. In terms of people who I know well, you know, you've got, you know, Sajid Javid is a very --
SOARES: Yes.
AFOLAMI: -- capable minister, Rishi Sunak, who's a great guy, very, very able and it's oppressed the country and resigned in a very principled way as did Sajid. You've got Tom Tugendhat, who's a very good friend who's chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
[12:25:09]
We've got a range of able people. And I think that it's very exciting for the party that we will finally be able to have this proper debate, see who's best and, you know, deliver for the country once we've through.
SOARES: And regain trust of course and regain --
AFOLAMI: Quite right.
SOARES: -- of course the integrity. Bim Afolami, great to have you on the show.
AFOLAMI: And so nice to see you.
SOARES: Thank you very much, you too.
Well, coming up, surging inflation, as well as the looming recession. We'll discuss how Boris Johnson's leaving successor to deal really what is an economic mess. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Isa Soares coming to you live from outside the Houses of Parliament in London on a momentous day for the United Kingdom. It is a resignation without a firm departure date.
The U.K. is facing an uncertain political future after Boris Johnson announced he's stepping down as Prime Minister but he didn't say when. The embattled leader vowed to remain in office until a successor is chosen then said a timetable for the process will be revealed next week. His dramatic exit comes amid of wave of resignations following a series of ethical scandals, the latest taking place if you remember earlier this week.
The Prime Minister remained defiant though until he finally succumb to mounting pressure. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: In the last few days, I've tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we're delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we're actually only a handful of points behind in the polls even in mid-term after quite a few months and pretty relentless sledging. And when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally.
And I regret and not to have been successful in those arguments. And, of course, it's painful and not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:30:00]
SOARES: Well, as you'd expect by now, there's plenty of talk in Westminster and beyond as to who will replace Boris Johnson at 10, Number 10. Downing Street. Somewhat familiar faces from the Cabinet such as the former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, as you remember resigned yesterday and former, of course, Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Well, let's get more on all of this because it's been a pretty abrupt end to an explosive three-year tenure marked by chaos, and controversy and really reporting on it all was in. Bianca, for us. And here we are, again. Bianca, before we talk about candidates and who may throw their hat in the ring, let's talk about the now and this idea of, you know, how soon would Boris Johnson leave 10 Downing, but this is something that you and I have been hearing here at the green.
How worried -- is it worried, are some of the MPs have been speaking to about their timeline here, because those I've spoken to say they want the process to be expedited?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So to boil it down to its most essential, it looks like Boris Johnson will want to stay on as long as possible. He wants to be Prime Minister, he always has wanted that role, cupboards that his entire life. He doesn't want to leave and he wants to have some bold policies before he goes.
MPs are concerned about that, because they think he doesn't have the confidence. He's unpredictable. We don't want him setting the country in another direction. So they want to truncate the amount of time that he will remain Prime Minister. So much so that an MP I was just speaking to is saying he's not actually confident that Boris Johnson will be allowed to continue as caretaker Prime Minister.
Now what could happen to change that? Potentially on Monday when this 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs meets and is re-elected, so have new members, they have the capacity to change rules and put pressure on the Prime Minister story (ph).
SOARES: This is what we've had to deal with throughout the day.
NOBILO: I was just waiting to see which political controversy they were going to see come out.
SOARES: Yes, we've had them all. They're gone through the 60 to 70.
NOBILO: Exactly.
SOARES: But makes its own.
NOBILO: Basically, the 22 committee would have the power to try and put pressure on the Prime Minister again, potentially to expedite his exit. But that's all up in the air. It will depend on Boris Johnson's demeanor, his -- what he's communicating to those around him and those in Cabinet as to whether MPs will countenance him continuing for a longer period of time.
SOARES: And there is some sort of division that I've heard that to some saying, look, yes, we would like this to be expedited. But at the same time, we don't want to rush this. We don't want to be in a position where we just pick someone out of a hat and then we have to start again. And that is the concern, too.
NOBILO: It is the concern because as we've discussed, it's what happened with Theresa May.
SOARES: Yes.
NOBILO: So because of controversy and backstabbing between other candidates, they were knocked out prematurely, and Theresa May was left as the only one in the race. So she then became the leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister. Because of that, she was untested and the party were unable to see her inadequacies as leader which would then become very obvious, her lack of charisma, campaigning ambition, et cetera.
So they don't want that to happen this time. They want to really be able to probe and explore the leader that will take the party forward, because it's in such disarray. The stakes are so high in the country.
SOARES: Yes.
NOBILO: There's a cost of living crisis, that country is recovering from COVID-19. There's a war in Europe. They need somebody who can step up to that plate and deliver on all of those issues.
SOARES: And what I've been hearing, that takes time, it can't be done overnight. Bianca, thank you very much indeed.
Well, let's discuss this further with a familiar face on the show Quentin Peel, the commentator of the Financial Times, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, Europe Programme. Quentin, great to have you on the show. I'm not sure whether you had in my discussion here with Bianca. But there, we have been hearing this division within members of the Conservative Party, those who want the process to be expedited, the Prime Minister, the Outgoing Prime Minister, leave 10 Downing Street soon, and those who are just so worried about rushing this process, what are you hearing?
QUENTIN PEEL, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE EUROPE PROGRAMME: Well, I think they're really caught between a rock and a hard place. Because as we know, it's wide open, the succession field. And they really need a bit of time to sort out who are the serious players there. They do need really quite a heavyweight person to take on all the problems that Boris Johnson is leaving behind, as you were talking about there, the cost of living crisis, Ukraine above all, the energy crisis, the economy, and indeed all the unresolved issues of Brexit.
So they don't want somebody who is relatively untried. I think it's going to be very difficult, because the longer Boris Johnson stays in a way, the more damage it will do to the party's reputation. SOARES: Yes. Let's pick -- let's unpick that there. So if he stays much longer, I mean the damage in many ways, Quentin, that's already been done surely, how much more damage do you think he can do given that he said today, he will be stepping down?
PEEL: Well, it's just that it will keep reminding people what a messy process it has all been.
SOARES: Yes.
[12:35:03]
PEEL: And they need to lance the boil really quite quickly and get on with what Johnson himself has been talking about sort of the business of policy dealing with the problems. Now, that is a problem because it can take a prime minister, especially Johnson as caretaker Prime Minister, is really not going to be trusted with any serious policymaking. So they don't want it to drag on.
SOARES: But it's also in many ways a limbo government. I'm not sure whether we can call it that, but we have seen kind of an avalanche of resignations. Does he even have the people to actually fill these places?
PEEL: Well, absolutely. And not only that, but in resigning, a lot of those people have said some really pretty rude things about Boris Johnson, lack of integrity, unreliability, and so on. So that makes it even more difficult really to hang together.
I think they're in trouble. But they're desperate not to have anything like a new election because they would get hammered. So they certainly won't be backing the Keir Starmer vote motion of no confidence.
SOARES: Yes. And Quentin, I hope you can still hear me, music's playing here, as you know what it's like, it's always lively in the green. But let's talk about the contenders. I think we've got a graphic that show some of the people that might throw their hats in the ring. Of course, it's maybe a very, very long list. Who would you say would be the top three contenders or so, Quentin?
PEEL: Well, I think Rishi Sunak seems to have come back into the frame very much, perhaps precisely because the problem is the economy. And he's seen to be serious there. Sajid Javid too made a very, I think, impressive resignation statement where he put his finger on a lot of the problems and that's helped him. Liz Truss, we know, really wants the job. And as far as I can understand, she is flying back as fast as she can come from Indonesia, where she is at the moment in order to get into the race.
But the interesting one, I think, who's emerged slightly out of nowhere is Penny Mordaunt, formally and very briefly Defense Minister. And somebody who actually presses quite a lot of the right buttons, a Brexiteer, but with some charm.
SOARES: Thank you so much, Quentin. Always great to get your perspective. Quentin Peel there. Appreciate it, Quentin. PEEL: There you go.
SOARES: Will the next prime minister, whoever that is, we'll have (INAUDIBLE) really outlined for us, an economic mess to deal with. Anna Stewart joins me now. So, Anna, apologies for the music.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, I ask the campaign, it was about business, then we got money, money, money, money.
SOARES: There you go. This is just for your segment here. Look, there's a lot, whoever takes up this role. There's a lot to deal with policy wise. We've got the war in Ukraine, cost of living crisis. But also we've got these very big math figures, right. Talk us through what they say.
STEWART: I mean, I don't think you can see a more miserable economic outlook --
SOARES: Yes.
STEWART: -- that what we have right now for what you take. Even we're looking at inflation at over 9 percent that is the highest of all G7 economies. It's going to hit a 11 percent by the end of the year, according to the Bank of England. And the economy is flatlining, actually shrank in March and April.
So the picture is looking weak. Cost of living crisis is really biting. People are going to struggle to pay their bills without state health by the end of the year. This is what the next leader of the Conservative Party, the next prime minister will have to contend with, mainly the United government. And right now, this is not a government can govern. And the outgoing Chancellor certainly made clear that they disagreed with the policy at the top and that is a problem.
SOARES: Yes. And but he -- the new chancellor, who's been in this post for what, 24 hours, probably --
STEWART: Probably, yes.
SOARES: --roughly 24 hours, do we have an inkling at all of where he stands, what kind of policy we might be seeing here?
STEWART: I think there are two key elements we need to think about when we look at the next chancellor or the current chancellor if he stays in that position --
SOARES: Yes.
STEWART: -- and their policies. One is taxation. Rishi Sunak, the outgoing Chancellor made very clear he believes in raising taxes, tougher policy, yes, it will hurt but he believes reining in money and trying to dampen down inflation is what needs to happen. Boris Johnson clearly disagreed with him. He made that very clear --
SOARES: Yes. STEWART: -- in his resignation letter. Nadhim Zahawi, the new chancellor yesterday in interview said that he would support cutting taxes. It's a very popular policies move.
SOARES: Yes.
STEWART: It certainly will help people who are feeling the bite of a cost of living crisis. But the big concern there is that as inflationary pressure back on, so that's maybe not good. And then you look at the Northern Ireland protocol and whether or not you have a leader who takes a very bullish stance with the E.U. What will that do to the pound on an investment or whether they are a bit more conciliatory in that chain. So two key factors I think we have to look at here.
[12:40:06]
SOARES: What about the markets, what about investors? How was really (INAUDIBLE) really seen this today? Or is it a bit priced in at this stage, Anna?
STEWART: It was interesting. And maybe we've got some charts to show you. I mean, in terms of sterling, it was interesting that yesterday we had the pound hitting a two-year low against the dollar. It's come back up a bit today. And it fits (INAUDIBLE) is higher today. I think in terms of the financial risks, what is so interesting is we are not back in 2019. The economic picture is dire.
SOARES: Yes.
STEWART: Make no mistake about that. But we're not looking at a leadership contest that will involve what we had last time over the last election which was are we going to have a hard Brexit --
SOARES: Yes.
STEWART: -- a soft Brexit and no deal Brexit. There was a lot to consider.
SOARES: But it's clear that whoever throws their hat in the ring, they have to focus on the economy. This is one of the most crucial issues of course, that this country is facing not just its country, but really around the world. And there's economic pressures.
Anna Stewart, thank you very much.
And still to come right here on the show, a powerful gift from the United States that Ukraine hopes can reverse Russia's war momentum. We'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai and I'll be bringing you other news making headlines today. Now Ukraine says Russian forces are consolidating their hold on the Luhansk region while stepping up attacks on neighboring Donetsk. The mayor of Kramatorsk says there are victims after a missile attack on the city center and he warns the danger is not over. Officials believe Russia's next objective is the city of Sloviansk. It's one of the few remaining Ukrainian strongholds in the Donbass.
Meanwhile, in an act of defiance, Ukrainian forces raised their flag on Snake Island, a critical Black Sea outpost after recapturing it a week ago. Now earlier today, a Russian airstrike hit the island. Ukraine says a dock was significantly damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says long range rocket systems that recently arrived from the west are working powerfully against Russian military targets, but these prized weapons have to keep moving to avoid Russian detection. CNN's Phil Black visited once such mobile unit near the frontlines. Let's take a look.
[12:45:13]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A secret location, a precious weapon, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, a powerful gift from the United States to Ukraine. So far, they've only received four of these launches. But the scorch marks on the earth show they've been busy. Their commander, Alexander, says the HIMARS is now Ukraine's most important weapon.
He says it's modern, precise, deadly, and the Russians should fear it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Foreign Language).
BLACK (voice-over): The operators say its accuracy and range about 44 miles allows them to hit important sites deep inside Russian controlled territory. Mostly command posts, weapons and ammunition storage. Officially, Ukraine confirms few of the HIMARS strikes, but the evidence is out there. The crew says after each launch, they mined Russian news sites and social media to see the impact of their work.
Alexander says, 20 minutes after our job is done, all the information is public. There was no comment from Ukraine over the course of this huge explosion at a weapons depot close to the Russian border. The local pro-Russian forces were in no doubt. Only Ukraine's new HIMARS could have done this.
(on-camera): The system's job is to take out high value Russian targets but the Ukrainians know this is now a high priority target for the Russians. A lot of care is being taken to ensure it stays safe, protected from Russian eyes and weapons.
(voice-over): Somewhere in the woods and fields nearby, air defense systems and a special ground operation are guarding this site. And they're all moving constantly. Never staying longer than a day in one location. In another site, the HIMARS' ability to influence this war, Ukrainian leaders can't stop saying, thank you.
No other donated weapon has inspired so much public gratitude from the president, the defense minister and the military. This commander wants to thank the American people and President Biden for providing a weapon that is helping Ukraine stay in the fight. But he and every other soldier here knows Russia still has the momentum in this war. And that's why their message to their allies is unchanged -- please send more weapons now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Women's basketball star Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug smuggling in Russia. Now Griner appeared in a Moscow courtroom on Thursday and admitted to bringing cannabis oil into the country back in February. But Griner said she had packed her bags in a hurry and had not intended to break the law. Now she could face up to 10 years in a Russian prison. Griner's wife spoke to U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, who reassured her he is working to bring Griner home.
All right, CNN's Kylie Atwood is following developments from the State Department for us. Kylie, great to see you. Just how does it complicate trying to get Brittney Griner out of Russia by her admitting to the charges?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fact that she pled guilty today is significant. It doesn't necessarily tell us all that much about what actually happened because there is a 99 percent conviction rate in the Russian judicial system. And that is something that U.S. officials that Brittney Griner and her team were highly cognizant of.
But when she pled guilty today, she did say essentially, that this was a mistake, that she had packed up in a hurry with her bag. She had no intention of breaking the law. She had no intention of carrying drugs with her. The fact that she pled guilty may be something that begins to pave the way for a prisoner swap. A senior U.S. official telling me the expectation was that she would have to admit fault and that there would have to be some sort of sentencing before any potential prisoner swap could happen.
Now, we don't yet have a sentence for Brittney Griner. There is a third hearing next week as part of this trial. That'll be a week from today on July 14, and we will watch to see what happens there. But the National Security Council at the White House today is reiterating that the Biden administration believes that she is wrongfully detained and that she is in intolerable circumstances.
[12:50:04]
Also the Secretary of State Tony Blinken saying that all of U.S. government is working to get her home, also working to get Paul Whelan, another American wrongfully detained in Russia for more than three years now, home and of course, all other Americans who are wrongfully detained around the world.
And one thing that we should note is that on the sidelines of this trial today, a senior U.S. diplomat was able to give Brittney Griner a letter from President Biden. That letter was responding to a letter that she had wrote to the President on July 4th. And she was very concerned in that letter that she may be stuck in Russia for forever and made a very personal plea to the president to try and do everything that he can to get her out.
GIOKOS: All right, Right Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for that update. Good to see.
Now Russia's actions are affecting the lives of thousands all across the world. CNN's Clarissa Ward has been documenting how the war on Ukraine is further intensifying food insecurity in Somalia. Now you can watch her report later today right here on CNN.
And coming up, world leaders react to Boris Johnson's resignation. And what Ukraine's President said about the Prime Minister's policies and why he considers him a friend to his country.
Isa Soares and the rest of the team will be back with you after the short break. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: The reason I have fought so hard in the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was not just because I wanted to do so. But because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019.
And of course, I'm immensely proud of the achievements of this government from getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for over half a century reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in Parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown. And in the last few months, leading the West in standing up to Putin's aggression in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:55:07]
SOARES: Well, the British Prime Minister there listing some of his proudest moments, his greatest hits while in office as he announced his resignation. Ahead of that speech, Russia clearly signaled that it will not miss Boris Johnson when he's gone. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, quote, he doesn't like us very much, and we don't like him either.
Well Ukraine's President, on the other hand, praise Mr. Johnson for supporting his country as it tries to fend off Russia's invasion. Here's what he said about the announcements. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Unfortunately, I didn't hear the resignation speech. But I will have a listen after our interview. But I will talk to him. And I will try to understand the details of his resignation. And when it comes to supporting Ukraine, I think that he's a very deep person.
And the fact that he's going to resign, he'll be talking to people, he'll be talking to me too. And I understand that for some time, he'll still be working, still performing his duty, so it's not going to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Meantime, the leader of (INAUDIBLE) measure respond like a lot and wished Boris Johnson well, but he noted that relations between their governments have been strained. Mr. Johnson recently drew pushback from Ireland, Europe, and the U.S. whose plans to alter Brexit Northern Ireland's protocol. Let's get more on the impact, Mr. Johnson has had right around the world.
For that, we turn to our Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson, who joins us live from Downing Street. And Nic, we'll talk about that in just a second because I've just seen in the last few minutes, we have a readout from a Cabinet meeting where it says the outgoing British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson will not make any major policy or fiscal changes before his successor is chosen. And that is important, because that's something that I've been hearing in terms of concerns, if, of course, he stays until the autumn.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it is very important. And that is clear signaling on the part of Boris Johnson's office at Number 10. That he is a safe pair of hands for this lengthy transition that he imagines he will be allowed to hold on for. And it's just part of his messaging to try to enable that.
The concern would be, of course, that Boris Johnson might try and sort of wrangle ways to stay on in office longer, that he might try to sort of, you know, rush through new policies and take a change in direction. And that was one of the other things that they cap (ph) message was from Downing Street, that he will not have a change in direction.
So it's the sort of stability, unity, not chaos type of message that is critical to Boris Johnson, if his to win over enough support to get what he wants, which is this longer transition. It's not as we know, what the former Prime Minister John Major has said. He said it would be unwise to allow Boris Johnson to do this. Essentially, he has formed not to be trusted.
SOARES: Nic Robertson for us outside 10 Downing Street. Thanks very much, Nic. And that does it for me. Thank you very much for your company. Amanpour is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
