LONDON (REUTERS) - Mr Boris Johnson, Britain's former foreign minister and a prominent campaigner to leave the European Union, said on Thursday (May 16) he will be standing as a candidate to replace Prime Minister Theresa May as Conservative leader, the BBC reported.

Mrs May has said she will step down before the next phase of Brexit negotiations although she has not yet put a date on her departure.

"Of course I'm going to go for it," Mr Johnson told The British Insurance Brokers' Association, according to the BBC.