Home Secretary Sajid Javid announces run for British prime ministership

Javid said the government needed to restore trust, bring unity and create opportunities in the UK

British Home Secretary Sajid Javid became the ninth candidate on Monday to enter the race to replace Theresa May as premier, promising to ‘deliver Brexit’ after repeated delays AFP

Sajid Javid, the British home secretary from a Muslim background, has officially announced he is running for prime minister.

“We need to restore trust, bring unity and create new opportunities across the UK,” said Mr Javid. “First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit.”

He said he wanted “to heal communities” and “strengthen our society and economy”.

Mr Javid also commented on his party’s dismal European election results on Sunday evening, and how fragmented the vote was in the UK.

He said the government “must get on and deliver Brexit to ensure there is a renewed trust in our democracy”.

The Conservatives scored less than 10 per cent of the vote in the European elections, compared to almost 25 per cent in 2014.

Last week, Mr Javid gave a speech about overhauling of treason laws, which was seen by many observers as a pitch for the top job.

He is the ninth member of the party to enter the leadership race.

The battle began on Friday when Prime Minister Theresa May resigned in a tearful speech outside Downing Street.

In the speech, Mrs May said she regretted that she had been unable to deliver Brexit after her withdrawal bill was rejected by MPs.

She said she would stay on as British leader until a new prime minister was chosen, which was expected to be by the end of July.

Reports say that up to 16 candidates could be in the running for Mrs May’s job.

Other candidates include hard Brexiteers Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and Dominic Raab, and more centre-right candidates Jeremy Hunt and Rory Stewart.