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CNN INTERNATIONAL: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Resigns; Talks Of Successor After Johnson's Resignation; U.K. Opposition Leader Demands Boris Johnson Leave Immediately; Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges In Russia; Somalia Near Famine As Putin's War Limits Food Supply; Boris Johnson's Legacy As Prime Minister. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 07, 2022 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:46]

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Welcome. Coming to us live from Westminster, I'm Isa Soares outside the Houses of Parliament. It's just gone 9:00 p.m.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH CARETAKER PRIME MINISTER: 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.

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: A truly historic moment there. Boris Johnson announcing his resignation. And it comes after a mutiny among members of his government. Almost 60 ministers resigned in the past few days. Johnson says he will remain on as a caretaker prime minister until a replacement is chosen. And it all comes after of course numerous scandals among his administration.

Our Bianca Nobilo has the story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the moment he'd long to avoid. Boris Johnson announcing he'll step down as U.K. prime minister.

JOHNSON: To you, the British public, I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will 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. Thank you all very much.

NOBILO: It's the culmination of the gruesome 24 hours where Johnson saw his government crumble around him. 56 MPs from his own party resigned as he desperately tried to steady the ship. Even the newly appointed U.K. finance minister telling the prime minister to do the right thing and go now. Just 24 hours after he vouched for him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think this prime minister has integrity?

NADHIM ZAHAWI, BRITISH FINANCE MINISTER: I do. I think he --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's all we need to know.

ZAHAWI: Well, because he's determined to deliver for this country.

NOBILO: In the end, support for Johnson had evaporated and he got that message loud and clear.

JOHNSON: As we've seen West Minister, the herd instinct is powerful. When the herd moves, it moves. And my friends, in politics, no one is remotely indispensable.

NOBILO: It's not known when Johnson will leave the stage. But his team suggesting he may stay on as caretaker prime minister until as late as October.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: He needs to go completely. None of this nonsense about clinging on for a few months. He's inflicted lies, fraud and chaos in the country.

NOBILO: It's the end of the premiership mired in scandal, but Johnson's exit leaves the question of who will take his place? Defense Minister Ben Wallace is the favorite amongst Conservative Party members. Newly-resigned chancellor Rishi Sunak is another.

QUENTIN PEEL, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: Conservatives want to be in power. And that is the question, that's where Boris Johnson seems to be letting them down. But are the alternatives out there? I'm not sure Rishi Sunak really has it in him. They've got to find somebody who brings together both the pro-Brexit and the anti-Brexit wings of the party. And that's going to be very difficult to do.

NOBILO: A difficult choice for an already fragile democracy, perhaps one of Johnson's most unwelcomed legacies.

Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: So what next, you may be asking. Well, CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joining me now from outside 10 Downing Street.

And Nic, what I've been hearing today from Conservative MPs is really differing views. Some of those who actually want him to wait it out, really follow the timeline of whatever timeline he puts in place because they need the time, and there are others who actually want the prime minister out much quicker. So talk us through the next stages, the process here. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it is very

divided, isn't it? And that's what Boris Johnson faced when he sat down with this Cabinet for a short meeting today, and it was a very short meeting even by his short Cabinet meeting standards. Less than half an hour. There were those sitting around the table that have already said they wanted his job. Those that think that he should go right now. And those that think he should be allowed, as you say, to be caretaker until the whole process of finding a replacement is done.

[16:05:09]

I think one of the messages that is coming out of Downing Street this evening, and there's a read-out of that Cabinet meeting, that there will be no changes, no -- you know, no shift in policy, no changes in government direction. No new policies. And so, this is, you know, Number 10, Boris Johnson's office here trying to communicate that he could be a good caretaker prime minister. That there's no reason to worry because he's got a Cabinet around the table again.

They're all working on that mandate that he talked about there in his resignation speech to deliver on what the people want. He's not going to deviate from that. But there is just genuine concern that Boris Johnson wants to hold on for as long as possible and may take measures despite the announcements from Number 10 today, may take measures that would keep him in power longer, knowing that that process of finding a replacement just would take a long time to play out.

Weeks, possibly months for it to play out because it's a complicated, slow process, and there could be a lot of candidates vying to be prime minister. But I think where we are at the moment is, we've come through this sort of traumatic developments of the day. The historic moment, if you will, has passed. But it's settling out now into this sort of lower level uncertainty of, does that part of his party that doesn't want him to stay longer really try to push him further? Do they wait until next week and see what the influential backbench committee decides to do?

Boris Johnson has promised that there will be a plan next week. So we're now in this sort of uncertain, unchartered territory. But absolutely on a transition and on a change that in a way that this country has not really witnessed, you know, decades upon decades upon decades of such a level of chaos.

SOARES: We do have kind of a government in limbo here, Nic. I mean, for our international viewers trying to make sense of this, scratching their heads, I mean, how can this government really govern even if it's just momentarily for a few months or so, when we had an avalanche, as we've seen, of resignations?

ROBERTSON: The very simple answer would be to put their faith in the prime minister, to lead the government as he does, as caretaker prime minister. Put their faith in him and trust him and work together in unity. But this is not a party that's been good at doing that. And this is a party now that's on a leadership contest. So there will be different members of Boris Johnson's Cabinet and others expressing different views and divisions within the party will come out and so it's going to be a fractious period, and it's hard to see getting from here to the next prime minister without the possibility of degrees, more chaos in between.

I think one of the things that's emerged later today, and the Press Association reported this, the Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has announced that he won't be in the running to become prime minister. And that's significant because it means potentially there isn't a mechanism for it. But potentially he could become the caretaker prime minister and get the country through to the position of having a new prime minister.

That's a possibility. These are all ideas that are out there. But they're not threads that anyone is bringing together in a concrete plan.

SOARES: Yes, I did put that very point that you raised about the deputy prime minister to a member of parliament, a conservative member of parliament earlier, and he said he didn't see that happening because of what he told me was constitutional reasons he could only really step up as deputy prime minister in case of illness and so forth. But of course anything is possible at this stage as we have seen.

Nic Robertson, appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Well, earlier I spoke with Conservative MP, Bob Silly. He praised Boris Johnson's efforts on Brexit, COVID vaccines and the Ukraine crisis. Still he said it was time for the prime minister to leave. The MP went through his favorite candidates to succeed Johnson. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB SEELY, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: Lis Truss is superb and very strong. Ben Wallace has done a fantastic job as defense minister. Penny Mordaunt who is 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 should be very popular with the country. Sajid has got a great story, Sajid Javid, lots of good spirit. And I think Rishi, you know, he's bit inherited a really bad hand but he did the best that 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 every single one of them.

[16:10:01]

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Bob Seely feeling pretty positive about the candidates even though we don't know who's going to put their hat in the ring.

James Blitz is the former Whitehall editor for "The Financial Times." He also wrote the daily column "Brexit Briefing."

Thanks very much for joining us. Let me start off there where we just left off on the question of candidates. I know so many of them, the majority of them, in fact, haven't thrown their hat in the ring. But who should we be looking at for the next potential prime minister?

JAMES BLITZ, FORMER WHITEHALL EDITOR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Well, it is very hard to say because it's a very wide field. And one of the reasons why the parliamentary party wanted to get rid of Boris Johnson was they didn't know who would succeed. And someone of them are worried that somebody like Liz Truss might win, because she's popular with the candidates and a lot of them don't think she's that good.

Penny Mordaunt, the former defense secretary now the trade minister, I think is somebody who a lot of people are looking at. She ticks a lot of boxes. She was on the leave side in the referendum, number one. Number two, she's not really been at all close to Johnson in the government, and he dropped her from the job of defense secretary quite a while back. And she's a woman, she offers something new, a new face. She's certainly impressed a lot of people with her performance.

But it's difficult to know. I mean, you've mentioned all the others, Sunak, Javid. Tom Tugendhat, not interesting, but very much on the kind of traditionally pro-European wing. So it's very hard to stay at the moment. And one has to remember that Conservative leadership elections in the past have never gone the way the bookies thought they would go. And in every case, with the exception of Johnson's election in 2018, the person who was the frontrunner didn't turn out to win.

SOARES: And James, as you know, as we look at possible -- at the candidates, the possible candidates, what about the question of policy? We've talked about on the show here, economy, inflation, the crisis here, economic crisis here, the cost of living crisis. What do you think will dominate their pitches of course as they start to throw their hats into the ring?

BLITZ: Look, I think most people accept that it's impossible to approach this election being too pro-European. I mean, everybody who's a Brexiter does not want to reverse the Brexit decision. There might be some nuances in terms of some of them wanting a closer economic and trade relationship with the E.U. but not too much. That's basically where the center of gravity of the Conservative Party is.

As far as economic policy more generally is concerned, my view is we're basically in an economic crisis. We've got a very significant deficit. Inflation is very high. I'm not sure anybody can really offer a credible major tax cutting or expenditure program. So I'm not sure that's necessarily where things are going to be decided.

SOARES: And really, I would love to get your thoughts as the former Whitehall editor on Boris Johnson's really tenure, his legacy, in many ways. What did you make of his speech today?

BLITZ: Well, I thought it was difficult, Johnson, absolutely no apology whatsoever. I couldn't tell watching the speech whether Johnson simply hadn't come to terms with what's happened to him, or whether he's actually totally indifferent to the whole thing. I mean, I think Johnson will be remembered historically as somebody who was absolutely brilliant at pursuing his own personal political agenda and improving his own ambitions, shall we say, and meeting his ambitions.

I don't think he is -- and of course he'll be remembered for having taken the country out of the European Union. He was the decisive in that. But I think there has been no prime minister in modern times who was less interested in policy and the business of government than Boris Johnson. And that was (INAUDIBLE) right until the end. He's somebody who thought largely about himself, his political positioning, his enjoyment of the job, the grandeur of the job, and had remarkably little interest I think in policy with, governments, the country.

Most British prime ministers in my lifetime wake up in the morning and they think about the condition of the country. They worry about it. He wasn't that person. And I think in the end, it's the thing that brought him down because there wasn't something really to tilt in the balance against all the scandal that was around.

SOARES: Yes. Yes. As I heard his speech today, besides the lack of contrition, of course, that you were mentioning there, but also almost a failure in many ways to read the room. I think this is something that stood out to me.

James Blitz, appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thanks, James.

BLITZ: Thank you.

SOARES: And still to come tonight, Boris Johnson's resignation doesn't mean an end to the turmoil.

[16:15:02]

The opposition warns that another vote of no confidence and even a general election could be on the horizon. We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back. Now the U.K.'s opposition party says it won't accept Boris Johnson staying on until autumn. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is vowing to bring a vote of no confidence if Johnson doesn't stand down immediately. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STARMER: He needs to go. He can't cling on in this way. His own party have finally concluded that he's unfit to be prime minister. They can't now inflicting on the country for the next few months. It's obvious he's unfit to be prime minister. That's been blindingly obvious for a very, very long time. And if they don't get rid of him, then Labour will step up, in the national interest of bring a vote of no confidence because we can't go on with this prime minister clinging on for months and months to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOARES: Well, the prime minister narrowly defeated a no confidence vote within his own party just last month if you remember. But if Labour make good on their threat, this vote wouldn't just be among Conservative members. And if Johnson were to lose such a vote, it would likely trigger a general election.

[16:20:04]

Well, a new poll found Britons would choose Labour leader Keir Starmer as prime minister over nearly all likely conservative candidates. Ex- chancellor Rishi Sunak is the only Tory who beat Stermer in the survey and only by a single point.

John Curtice is professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, and he joins now.

John, what do you make of that poll that really that puts Keir Starmer as among the favorites if there were to be an election?

JOHN CURTICE, PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE: Well, sure. We know that Keir Starmer is likely to be more popular than pretty much any alternative Conservative leader at the moment. A, because you're comparing him either with people who are not currently leaders, and B, the Labour Party is ahead of the Conservatives in the opinion polls.

I think, you know, insofar as we've learned anything this evening, from the initial polling on attitudes towards potential successors to Boris Johnson, what we've learned is that the membership seem to have fallen behind Ben Wallace, who is not unpopular amongst the wider public, but he's not very well-known amongst the wider public. And Rishi Sunak, who is the person who is best known by the public and who despite his political difference (INAUDIBLE) a few months ago, is apparently the person who is most popular with the broader public.

So we could discover that the Conservatives have a choice between somebody who they like, but has yet got to prove himself in the wider public who's Ben Wallace, and somebody who's been very popular to the public, less so now but simply because he is so much better known and is still likely be much more (INAUDIBLE) compared to most of his potential leadership contestants.

SOARES: And it's interesting because I saw that poll among the Conservative Party putting Ben Wallace at the top. Of course, he's, you know, but speaking to people here, to MPs, Conservative MPs throughout the day, I have to say not a single one mentioned Ben Wallace. And, you know, of course he has been front and center in the question of the war in Ukraine, getting out of Afghanistan, but also he's very statesman like, isn't he? Did the surprise you seeing his name appear in that poll?

CURTICE: No, because we know from polling done by the Conservative Home Web site which is a Web site very much for Conservative members that Ben Wallace is being towards the top if not being at least been the most popular of all Conservative Cabinet ministers. Yes, he is a man who I think is in the right -- is the right person in the right job at the right time. I think one thing frankly I'm not sure we know is whether Ben Wallace actually wants the job. I mean, it's not sure that six months ago anybody would've anticipated that he would be -- somebody who might be in the running for prime minister as opposed to being somebody who is a very solid Cabinet minister, and particularly one especially suited as a former serviceman himself to the job of defense minister.

SOARES: But, John, wasn't he a remainer?

CURTICE: Probably yes, but, you know, so was Liz Truss, but Liz Truss has managed to convince most of the conservative membership that in fact her heart is with them anyway. SO maybe in the end this will not necessarily be a barrier to Ben Wallace. So in other words, the military medals and the military accolade may be more important than his Brexit past. But he was never a problem remainer, so he was maybe something that they're willing to forget.

SOARES: And now I know you probably, you're best place for you to talk about the impact and the legacy, and how Boris Johnson I think is being viewed now compared to beginning of his premiership. Give me a sense of, you know, what the last few weeks and the crisis that you're seeing, how he, you know, how he will be remembered. What kind of legacy will he leave here from what you've heard?

CURTICE: Look. Boris Johnson's legacy can be summed up in one word, Brexit. He after all was the politician who was the most best known, the most charismatic of the people who campaigned for leave back in 2016. And he then became the prime minister who, after renegotiating the Northern Ireland protocol, albeit an outcome that he now has no longer backs. But in the wake of that was then able to engineer an election which he was able to win and then was able to deliver Brexit. That is his legacy.

His misfortune, of course, is that within six weeks of Brexit being implemented, along came COVID. And much of his premiership has been firefighting COVID. The outcome of which of course has also left the Conservative Party with something amid larger crisis which I think you've already been talking about it.

It's left the Conservatives running a much larger state with a much larger tax burden, and not something with which many of them now find themselves deeply uncomfortable, and are wondering how they get themselves out of.

[16:25:15]

When of course, at the same time, there are still pressures basically to be spending money in order to try and help people out of the cost of living crisis. So there is no doubt a politician who was able to deliver on Brexit, very absolute major policy change, but perhaps thereafter in part from no fault of his own was not able to proceed -- able to achieve much thereafter.

SOARES: John Curtice, joining us now from Mosset, France. John, really appreciate your perspective there. Thank you very much. And still to come tonight, continuing coverage of course of Boris

Johnson's historic resignation. We'll have the latest right here from London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:30]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Boris Johnson says he will remain caretaker prime minister even as his opponents call for him to step down immediately. Johnson announced his resignation earlier today after a wave of resignations in his government. Speaking earlier, Johnson said he's confident in whoever will be next prime minister. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: Of course it's painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself. But as we have seen at Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful. When the herd moves, it moves. And my friends, in politics no one is remotely indispensable. And our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And Bianca Nobilo is with me now. And Bianca, let's put aside the potential candidates here. We'll get to that in a moment because something I've been hearing throughout the day and I think this is something you've heard, too, is this division within the Conservative Party, those who want the process, you know, to play out until September, October, as we of course wait to hear from Boris Johnson's intended timeline, others who want that truncated. That process to be much quicker.

NOBILO: And I think those divisions are a microcosm of the larger divisions that the party are worried about. They're concerned is that this leadership contest will open a can of worms that will hark back a couple of years to the Brexiteers versus the remainers. That's still a very live issue. I've been speaking to former ministers today who have leadership ambitions but supported remain, and they said I'd like to throw my hat in the ring, but I know that I can't because I'm tired by that. And that will be a large part of what the base of the party is looking for in a candidate.

SOARES: Just explain that to our international audience because anyone watching this will think, well, you know, Brexit is over and done with. What it's got to do right now with the contenders? Tie those two together for us.

NOBILO: Part of it is because even though Brexit has actually happened, it isn't over and done with. And that's because the Northern Island Protocol issue is still very much alive and the prime minister is making controversial moves on that. In fact he's been doubling down on it recently.

SOARES: Yes.

NOBILO: So what would the successor do when it comes to that? And that's actually a key sticking point that goes to the heart of the entire process. So that's unresolved. So whoever fills his shoes next, will they resolve it by making compromises and move in closer to the E.U., which would be unpalatable and inconceivable to some parts of his party? Or will they say no, we need to double down, we need to be more separate from the E.U. and we need to take the consequences of that. You know, that is a really big issue.

SOARES: So when we hear about these divisions, those who want it to be truncated, the process to be shorter, I mean, they clearly want to avoid a situation where we saw -- which we saw with Theresa May.

NOBILO: They do. Because with Theresa May what happened there is that other candidates were knocked out because they were fighting against each other.

SOARES: Yes.

NOBILO: And then sometimes what happens is one of the less conspicuous candidates, another dark horse, who isn't attracting the attention or the vitriol of other candidates, manages to be victorious. And that's what happened with Theresa May because they say sometimes with Tory leadership contest, it isn't who has the most friends that wins is who has the least enemies. So when Theresa May was victorious, we had a woman elected who was respected by many, and they agree with her on policy, and they thought she had integrity.

SOARES: Yes.

NOBILO: But then as transpired, as the years went on, she didn't have campaigning mettle, she didn't have charisma, or personality.

SOARES: Yes.

NOBILO: Now had the leadership contests finished, and been in a normal --

(CROSSTALK)

SOARES: Kind of played out in the normal time.

NOBILO: They would've seen that. Because she would have been pitted against others, and that would've been obvious and she wouldn't have had that dire election results in 2017.

SOARES: So we're looking possibly at, what, early September, late August, early September to find out?

NOBILO: But again --

SOARES: I mean, it's what I've been hearing.

NOBILO: I mean, there are divisions on this. So some like Andrew Britton who you were speaking to earlier said that he would like to see a truncated leadership contest and they might be able to whittle down the candidates quickly.

SOARES: Yes, very quickly, too.

NOBILO: Others disagree with that.

SOARES: Yes, OK. Thanks very much.

And still to come tonight, the U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to drug charges in Russia. Her lawyers say they hope the court shows leniency. I have a full report with my colleague Paula Newton just ahead for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:38:51]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: WNBA superstar Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to drug smuggling charges in a Russian courtroom today. Now she faces up to 10 years in prison. The 31-year-old was arrested in February at a Moscow airport after Russian officials say they found less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. The U.S. State Department says Griner is being wrongfully detained.

Now speaking through an interpreter today, Griner told the court the drugs in her luggage was an accident and the result of packing in a hurry. Her attorney tells CNN they are hoping the court will now show leniency as CNN's Matthew Chance reports from Moscow, U.S. officials insist they are doing everything they can to bring Griner home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Russian justice conducted behind closed doors. Just a glimpse of Brittney Griner towering above her guards being led handcuffed into the courtroom. The 31-year-old was detained at a Moscow airport in February when Russian custom officials say they found small quantities of cannabis oil in her luggage, an illegal substance under Russian law.

Recordings made inside the court captured the female basketball star through a translator pleading guilty to the serious drug smuggling charges against her.

[16:40:05]

BRITTNEY GRINER, WNBA STAR: I would like to express my attitude towards my charges.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes, please.

GRINER: I would like to plead guilty on the charges. But I had no intention on breaking any Russian laws.

CHANCE: But under those laws which carry a maximum 10-year sentence, the U.S. athlete who told the court she packed the oil in a hurry by mistake could now be made an example of, especially at a time of such strained U.S.-Russian relations. And this concern the Biden administration should be doing more to help the Olympic gold medalist.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Is the White House doing enough to get Brittney Griner home?

VANESSA NYGAARD, HEAD COACH, PHOENIX MERCURY: We've had great response recently with BG's letter to President Biden and Biden responding with a call to BG's wife, Cherelle. We think progress is being made on that front. You know, the coverage of women's sports and the coverage of women athletes is really the concern here. I mean, the question is, would Tom Brady be home? But Tom Brady wouldn't be there, right, because he doesn't have to go to a foreign country to supplement his income from the WNBA.

CHANCE: But U.S. officials in Washington and Moscow insist they're doing everything they can.

ELIZABETH ROOD, DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION, U.S. EMBASSY IN MOSCOW: I was able to speak with Miss Griner in the courtroom. She said that she is eating well. She's able to read books and under the circumstances she is doing well. Most important, I was able to share with Miss Griner a letter from President Biden and Miss Griner was able to read that letter.

CHANCE: It's unclear what was written but U.S. officials already negotiated the release of one U.S. citizen Trevor Reed from the Russian prison this year in a controversial prisoner swap. U.S. diplomats say they're committed to bringing home all Americans, including Brittney Griner and others who they say are wrongfully detained.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now a new U.N. report shows the world's hunger problem growing more dire. CNN's Clarissa Ward now reports from drought-stricken Somalia, where children are starving and Putin's war is making things that much worse. A warning now, this story contains disturbing content.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the edge of the Na'im Camp, just outside Somalia's capital, Zamzam Mohammed shows us the fresh graves of those who have died here.

ZAMZAM MOHAMMED, CAMP ADMINISTRATOR: One, two, three.

WARD: There are 30, she says, in total. The victims of this country's record drought. As the camp administrator Mohammed is tasked with burying the dead. From that corner to this one, she says, this line of graves is all children.

(On-camera): It must weigh on your heart to have to bury these little children.

(Voice-over): You feel such sadness when you bury a baby, she tells us. I'm a mother, and I can feel their pain as a parent.

Some 500 yards away, Nourta Ali Humey has yet to visit the graves of her three children. Severely malnourished, they died after contracting measles. I cannot bear to go, she says. The grief I would feel.

Aid agencies warned that Somalia is marching towards another famine. Nearly half the country is hungry. Some 800,000 people have been forced from their homes this year alone.

(On-camera): So two months ago, this camp didn't exist. Now there are more than 870 families living here.

(Voice-over): Conditions are dire and the world's attention is elsewhere. Thousands of miles from the front lines of the war in Ukraine, the impact of Russia's invasion is being felt. Food and fuel prices have skyrocketed, as Russia's blockade of Ukrainian wheat threatens global supplies.

MOHAMUD MOHAMED HASSAN, SAVE THE CHILDREN COUNTRY DIRECTOR: The wheat that is consumed in Somalia, 92 percent of it comes from Russia and Ukraine when you put together. So the price of wheat has doubled. In some areas, you know, 150 percent increase.

WARD (on-camera): So, you had climate change, COVID. But the war in Ukraine is really threatening to push Somalia over the edge?

HASSAN: Yes. Definitely yes, yes.

WARD: And what about if the war continues in Ukraine, if that blockade remains in place, what impact will that have here?

HASSAN: I cannot imagine what will be the impact.

WARD (voice-over): The stabilization ward at the Banadir Hospital offers a glimpse of what may be to come. There are no empty beds and many desperately sick children. Dr. Hafsa Mohamed Hassan works around the clock to keep her youngest patients alive.

[16:45:04]

(On-camera): How many years have you been working in this hospital?

DR. HAFSA MOHAMMED HASSAN, PHYSICIAN: Eight years.

WARD: Eight years.

HASSAN: Yes.

WARD: Have you ever seen so many children being brought in with malnutrition?

HASSAN: No. This is the worst situation I am seeing. And the number of the cases are increasing day by day. The hospital is very (INAUDIBLE) these cases.

WARD: Are you overwhelmed? HASSAN: Yes. It's overwhelming. Situation is overwhelming.

WARD (voice-over): In one bed, we meet Haradi Abdi (PH) with her 4- year-old son Mohammed (PH). I already lost three children in this drought, she says softly.

(On-camera): So you came here to save your son? How do you cope with that kind of loss, to lose three children? How do you get through the day?

(Voice-over): I can't cope with the situation, she says. I just pray my remaining children will survive.

It's a prayer shared by so many women here, one that the world has yet to hear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: That was our Clarissa Ward there. And we'll continue to bring you her reporting in the coming days right here on CNN. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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[16:50:39]

SOARES: Well, recognized around the world for among other things, his political bluster as well as clownish wit, Boris Johnson has certainly made his mark on Britain. Our Max Foster takes a look at some of the prime minister's best as well as worst moments in office.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A tumultuous tenure, Boris Johnson's career was built on an everyman informality, but defined by serious crises. He began his path like so many of his predecessors at the country's most elite schools. He cut his teeth as a journalist, but would truly enter public life in 2001 as a member of parliament, and in 2008, as London's mayor. He governed as a relative moderate and an affable figure famous for his high-jinx during the 2012 Olympic Games.

But it was his campaign over whether Britain should leave the European Union that would fuel his path to Downing Street?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Does everybody know? He's going to be a fantastic prime minister. I can tell you.

FOSTER: He tried to maintain his comedic character. He suspended parliament and muscle 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 because I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody. You'll be pleased to know.

FOSTER: Then the gravity of the pandemic hit home.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We learned moments ago that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus.

FOSTER: 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: But his brush with death only removed the spotlight on his government's pandemic response for so long. The government had sent some elderly patients back to care homes from 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.

Then Johnson controversially chose to lift all coronavirus restrictions in July 2021 until the fast spreading Omicron variants forced him to once again bring in new measures.

JOHNSON: We must act now.

FOSTER: Then at the same time, allegations of multiple parties held inside Downing Street and by government aides during strict COVID restrictions the previous year emerged. Dubbed "Party-gate," the scandal ultimately sparked an investigation by senior civil servant 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: That there was no party.

FOSTER: Johnson told parliament, there was no party and no COVID rules were 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 are entirely my own, for which I take full responsibility.

FOSTER: Just last month, the prime minister was booed in public before narrowly surviving a confidence vote by members of his own party. The damage had been done as yet another crisis surfaced, leading to mass government resignations.

Johnson and his office being held to account over the handling of allegations over sexual misconduct by a member of government who was promoted by Johnson. After Johnson initially denied knowledge of the allegations a former top civil servant broke grounds, saying Johnson had been briefed personally regarding the claims. But the prime minister promoted the member of Parliament anyway. Johnson later admitted he did know about the allegations.

JOHNSON: We can win.

FOSTER: Johnson's career was rocketed as a champion of Brexit, what he said would level up the country, bring new trade deals and new prosperity.

[16:55:07]

He leaves Downing Street with a legacy now defined by COVID-19, and his response, mired in a series of scandals.

JOHNSON: Thank you all very much.

FOSTER: Max Foster, CNN, London.

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SOARES: Thank you very much for your company. I'll be back with more coverage from Westminster after this very short break. Do stay right here, though, with CNN.

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