The London Times took to the headlines early on that Boris Johnson’s announcement was, in fact, a postponement of his departure. He turned to former Prime Minister John Major for the digital statement “Go away now, for the good of the nation, says Major to Johnson”.
The Guardian woke up sometime later, with the headline “Gone but not gone — Johnson announces departure but still clings to power”. The state-run BBC was more restrained, “Johnson will remain, but only as interim prime minister, cabinet agrees”.
The tone carried over to the covers of some of the Friday tabloids, which began to appear at night, adapting an expression from the Brexit campaign times, “Getting out means getting out”:
But closer outlets, such as the Daily Mail and the Telegraph, where he previously worked as a journalist, came to his defense. The first headlined on the website images “inside Boris’ bunker”, with “touching photos” of the family and staff, “It all ended in tears”.
The Telegraph took to the digital headline that “In the end he was his own worst enemy, but Boris’ heroic legacy is assured”, adding that “most will be eternally grateful for Brexit”.
The Mail, in its second feature, claimed that “the Conservative Party will regret having stabbed Boris, the only man capable of delivering Brexit, defeating socialism and tearing down the Red Wall of the Labor Party”.
The outrage remained on the cover, “What the hell did they do?“:
