Boris Johnson formally steps down as MP

Confirmation of former PM's departure from parliament fires starting gun on byelection in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat

Boris Johnson has formally stepped down as an MP, parliamentary authorities announced, bringing down the curtain on a tumultuous second stint in the Commons.

Johnson has accepted the post of crown steward and bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, a statement said, the slightly convoluted process under which MPs resign.