Crowd sings 'Bye Bye, Boris' over prime minister's resignation speech

Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday. (PA)
Boris Johnson resigned on Thursday. (PA)

A crowd outside Downing Street sang 'Bye Bye, Boris' while the prime minister was making his resignation speech.

Boris Johnson quit on Thursday afternoon after suffering a wave of resignations from ministers and losing the confidence of his cabinet.

Read more: Boris Johnson resignation speech in full

In a speech outside No10, the prime minister said he was sad "to be giving up the best job in the world - but them's the breaks".

However, while he was making the speech a crowd behind the gates of Downing Street were singing a modified version The Four Seasons 'Bye Bye, Baby' replacing "baby" with "Boris."

Anti-Brexit demonstrator Steve Bray has become a common sight outside of Westminster. (PA)
Anti-Brexit demonstrator Steve Bray has become a common sight outside of Westminster. (PA)

The audience was joined by anti-Brexit protester Steve Bray and his speaker.

Bray has become famous for blaring out anti-government chants as loud as possible while politicians make statements or do interviews outside Westminster.

You can clearly hear in the video below the sound of Bray's speaker blaring out the song while Johnson delivered his brief statement.

Read more: Martin Lewis: UK needs ‘new leaders in office asap’ ahead of ‘catastrophic’ winter

Johnson said: "I tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we're delivering so much," he said, adding: "I regret not to have been successful in those arguments."

Videos posted on Twitter also showed the protesters in full voice.

Johnson said in his speech that he had been forced out by a "herd instinct" in Westminster which was too "powerful" to resist.

He has said he plans to stay on until a new leader of the Conservative Party can take over, which may not be until autumn.

The length of time he plans to remain in place has proved unpopular with many senior Tories.

Former prime minister Sir John Major has said it would be “unwise and may be unsustainable” for Johnson to stay in office.

In a letter to Tory 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady, he said either Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab should take over or their Conservatives should speed up the process for electing a new leader.

Under the expected timetable, Conservative MPs will take part in a series of votes to whittle leadership candidates down to two, with Tory members then deciding the winner.

Tory leadership hopefuls had already begun setting out their stalls before Johnson made his announcement.

Attorney General Suella Braverman and arch-Brexiteer Steve Baker have both indicated they will run.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also hinted that he will throw his hat in the ring.