Boris Johnson set for penultimate Prime Minister's Questions

Boris Johnson is set to face MPs in Parliament for the first time since announcing his resignation as prime minister.

He will answer questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday in what looks to be his penultimate PMQs.

A new prime minister will be announced on September 5 after MPs return to Westminster from their summer break, with recess starting on July 21.

Opposition politicians have called on Johnson to step down sooner, with Labour having tabled a motion to hold a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister and his government.

However, ministers rejected the move, describing it as not a “valuable use of parliamentary time”.

The contest to determine the next Conservative leader and prime minister of the UK is currently under way.

Conservative MPs will begin voting for their chosen candidate on Wednesday.

Eight contenders are currently in the race; Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt, Jeremy Hunt, Nadhim Zahawi and Suella Braverman.

They all secured the required minimum 20 nominations from colleagues in order to enter the contest.

However, former health secretary Sajid Javid, transport secretary Grant Shapps and backbench MP Rehman Chishti all pulled out.

Labour leader Keir Starmer has meanwhile insisted that it would be “intolerable” to allow Johnson to remain in No 10 until September 5.

He said: “The Tory party has at last concluded that the Prime Minister is unfit for office – that was blindingly obvious a very, very long time ago.

“They can’t now let him cling on for weeks and weeks and weeks, until September 5. It would be intolerable for the country.”

And the SNP argue that the problems of Westminster “run much deeper” than one individual.

Kirsten Oswald, the party’s deputy Westminster leader, underlined the case for Scottish independence.

“Whoever replaces Boris Johnson Scotland will still be saddled with a Tory government we didn’t vote for imposing an extreme Brexit, austerity cuts and damaging policies against Scotland’s will,” she said.

“The problems run much deeper than one individual. It’s clear that the Westminster system is broken and the only way to escape it is to become an independent country, with the full powers needed to regain our place in Europe and build a fair and prosperous future.”