He added: “I was one of those who was personally appealed by the idea of Boris Johnson being Prime Minister”.
Advertisement
Months of protestation and denial, it seems, were little more than a ruse.
Mr Hayes, who originally indicated his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson to be the next Prime Minister, said: “The country voted for Britain to exit from the European Union and the only person who can take that forward is the person who believed in it”.
The victor will be announced September 9.
The justice minister, who torpedoed fellow anti-EU campaigner Boris Johnson’s leadership hopes on Thursday, also said he would pull Britain out of the single market, end free movement of people and impose a new immigration system favouring skilled workers.
In a detailed speech setting out his leadership vision, Mr Gove said he stood by all of the promises made by Vote Leave during the referendum contest.
The former Labour Party leader, who won three consecutive elections, said his party is “effectively disabled” under its current leadership and called for the Conservative Party lawmakers running for party leader to spell out their plans quickly.
Sources have reported that some Conservative ministers have attempted to dissuade Mr Gove from his leadership bid so that the party can unite around presumed frontrunner Theresa May.
Mrs May is now the bookies’ favourite in the race to succeed David Cameron, with Mr Gove the most prominent Leave backer in a field that also includes Stephen Crabb, Liam Fox and Andrea Leadsom.
Mr Gove replied: “After the referendum result last week I felt we needed someone to lead this country who believed heart and soul in leaving the European Union”.
Politicians in Tayside are battling to save investment from the European Union worth up to £10m following the Brexit vote, says The Courier.
Gove first announced his intentions on Thursday, having been widely expected to support Johnson.
Bosses at London’s Heathrow Airport will have breathed a sigh of relief at the decision by former London Mayor Boris Johnson not to stand in the leadership race.
Under the headline “Brexitcuted”, the Scottish Sun describes Mr Johnson’s career as being “shot to pieces” by “Brexit comrade” Michael Gove.
Until then, there will be “no negotiations of any kind” about future relations between the EU and the UK, EU leaders repeatedly said this week at their summit meeting.
The justice secretary, who is a leading candidate for the top position in the Conservative Party, declined to specify when he would formally launch the exit process.
“I enjoyed working with Boris during the referendum campaign, I think he has great talents and great abilities but you need something else to be prime minister, you need that grit, that executive authority, that sense of objective, that clarity”.
Advertisement
The five leadership candidates will be whittled down to two by a series of ballots by Conservative MPs in the coming days before being put to a vote of party members.
