Rishi Sunak launches bid to succeed Boris Johnson as UK PM

London, July 8 (PTI): Rishi Sunak, the former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, on Friday formally launched his leadership bid to succeed Boris Johnson as the new Conservative Party leader and future British Prime Minister.

The British Indian minister, who resigned from Johnson’s Cabinet earlier this week setting off events in motion that ultimately led to his resignation, becomes the highest-profile Tory member of Parliament yet to throw his hat in the ring for the leadership race.

“Someone has to grip this moment and make the right decisions,” he said in a social media video launching his campaign.

The 42-year-old MP and son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has long been seen as an heir apparent to Johnson at 10 Downing Street and is believed to have garnered the support of a significant chunk of the Conservative Party to launch his candidacy.

We need to make sure that’s not the end of the British Indian story. There’s lots more we can achieve. There’s lots more we can do. And I’m really excited about the future, he told reporters last week, when asked if he could go on to be the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of the UK.