Michael Gove in race for UK’s next Prime Minister after Boris Johnson betrayal

LONDON: Justice Secretary Michael Gove made his case to be Britain’s next prime minister after breaking with the incumbent and then betraying the onetime front-runner. He vowed to end free movement and make the UK a fairer place as it leaves the European Union.

In a manoeuvre that smacked of a plot line from the “House of Cards” television series, Gove torpedoed the leadership ambitions of fellow Brexiteer Boris Johnson on Thursday, four months after opposing Prime Minister David Cameron by joining the “Leave” camp in the European Union referendum campaign. Now his sights are set on Home Secretary Theresa May, the early favorite, and three other candidates to head the Conservative Party and the country.

In a speech to reporters in London, Gove argued that the best person to be prime minister in the wake of the electorate’s decision to leave the EU was someone who had campaigned for Brexit. May, the bookmakers’ favorite, backed the “Remain” camp, and Gove highlighted that difference.