Boris Johnson signs off his final appearance as PM in the Commons with a swipe at the Treasury and Twitter aficionados.
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“Mission largely accomplished, for now,” Boris Johnson has declared as he signed off his last Prime Minister’s Questions.
During his final question session, the PM also took swipes at the social media site Twitter and the Treasury.
“If we always listened to the Treasury we wouldn’t have built the M25 and the Channel Tunnel,” he said.
His final words before departing were “Hasta la vista baby” – meaning see you later, from the film Terminator.
Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer focused his attack on the candidates vying to replace Mr Johnson as leader, saying they had they “got us into this mess and have no idea how to get us out of it”.
He said the leadership hopefuls had “trashed every part of their record in government” and asked: “What message does it send when the candidates to be prime minister can’t find a single decent thing to say about him, about each other or their record in government?”
Mr Johnson hit back describing Sir Keir as a “pointless human bollard” who had opposed government polices including the health and social care levy designed to raise money for the NHS and social care.
The prime minister also used his 93rd, and final, Prime Minister’s Questions to offer some advice to his successor including the plea to “cut taxes and deregulation wherever you can”.
“Focus on the road ahead, but always remember to check the rear-view mirror and remember above all it’s not Twitter that counts, it’s the people who sent us here.”
He thanked the staff of the House of Commons, friend and colleagues before concluding with “hasta la vista baby” – a sign off that may raises questions about his post-prime ministerial ambitions, given that another famous Terminator quote is “I’ll be back”.
His departure was greeted by applause and a standing ovation from his own MPs.
Shortly after Prime Minister’s Questions ended, Conservatives began voting to select the two candidates who could replaced him.
Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss are still in the race, but one of them will be eliminated when the results are announced at 16:00 BST.
The remaining two will face a ballot of party members with the result due on 5 September. Boris Johnson will stay on as prime minister until the new leader is elected.