Destination Downing Street? Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds leave his country pad ahead of week in which he is expected to become prime minister and enter No 10 with her at his side

  • Mr Johnson, 55, and his 31-year-old partner were whisked away with aides
  • The ballot in which Mr Johnson is pitted against Jeremy Hunt closes tomorrow 
  • The winner in unveiled on Tuesday and moves to Downing Street on Wednesday 

Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds departed his country home this afternoon to kickstart a week which is expected to see them both enter Number 10.

The couple were spotted leaving his house in Oxfordshire as the contest to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister draws to a close.

Mr Johnson, 55, and his 31-year-old partner were smartly dressed as they and aides were whisked away with armed police officers.

Mr Johnson was wearing a suit and tie while Ms Symonds was classily dressed in a dark top with white flower pattern.   

The ballot in which Mr Johnson is pitted against Jeremy Hunt closes tomorrow and the winner is announced on Tuesday.

The victor of the Tory leadership battle  is expected to arrive in Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon after Mrs May visits to Queen to officially stand down.

Mr Johnson is the overwhelming favourite to take office but could face an immediate baptism of fire.         

The couple were spotted leaving his house in Oxfordshire with aides as the contest to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister draws to a close

The couple were spotted leaving his house in Oxfordshire with aides as the contest to replace Theresa May as Prime Minister draws to a close

Mr Johnson, 55, today in Oxfordshire
Ms Symonds, 31, today in Oxfordshire

Mr Johnson, 55, and his 31-year-old partner were smartly dressed as they and aides were whisked away with armed police officers.

An armed officer is seen with one of Mr Johnson's aides today

An armed officer is seen with one of Mr Johnson's aides today

He is likely to step straight into the middle of a military and diplomatic row with Iran after it seized a UK-registered oil tanker in Omani waters on Friday 

The Stena Impero was stormed by Iranian Special Forces on Friday, sparking a row over protection afforded to British traffic in the area.

 Meanwhile he is braced for the pre-emptive resignation of several Remainer ministers before he has a chance to fire them.

 Philip Hammond sensationally revealed today that he intends to quit as Chancellor on Wednesday so Boris Johnson does not have a chance to sack him.

The Government's top money man told the BBC's Andrew Marr show he plans to resign to Theresa May on Wednesday before she leaves office.

Asked if he expected to be sacked if, as expected, Mr Johnson becomes prime minister, Mr Hammond said: 'I'm sure that I am not going to be sacked because I am going to resign before we get to that point.'

He added that he would take the step after Mrs May takes part in her last Prime Minister's Questions at lunchtime, before she goes to Buckingham Palace to herself hand in her resignation to the Queen.

'Assuming that Boris Johnson becomes the next prime minister, I understand that his conditions for serving in his government would include accepting a No Deal exit on the October 31 and it's not something that I could ever sign up to.

'It's very important that the prime minister is able to have a chancellor who is closely aligned with him in terms of policy and I therefore intend to resign to Theresa May before she goes to the Palace to tender her own resignation on Wednesday.'

His revelation on live television came after fellow Cabinet Remainer, Justice Secretary David Gauke, said he will quit this week rather than serve under Mr Johnson, branding a No Deal Brexit a national 'humiliation'. 

Mr Hammond arriving at the BBC in central London this morning
Mr Johnson is widely expected to remove Remainers from the Cabinet if he takes over as prime minister

Mr Johnson is widely expected to remove Remainers from the Cabinet if he takes over as prime minister and several like Mr Hammond (left, today) have decided to go before being pushed

Meanwhile Ireland's foreign minister warned Theresa May's successor today that tearing up the current Brexit deal would cause 'trouble' as he tore into hardline Brexiteers' bravado over a No Deal departure.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney said that the battle between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to succeed Theresa May had changed nothing in terms of Britain's attempts to get out of the EU.

He offered a brutally stark assessment after reports claimed EU countries including Ireland are secretly wooing Mr Johnson, the favourite to enter Number 10, in a bid to thrash out a new Brexit plan that would avoid No Deal.

Mr Coveney told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme: 'Just because there is a change of personality as prime minister doesn't mean the negotiations of the past three years, the solutions that were demanded by the UK Government ... are not as important today as they were six to eight weeks ago.

'If the approach of the new British prime minister is that they're going to tear up the Withdrawal Agreement, then I think we're in trouble, we're all in trouble, quite frankly, because it's a little bit like saying: ''Either give me what I want or I'm going to burn the house down for everybody''.'

He added: 'The EU has made it very clear that we want to engage with a new British prime minister, we want to avoid a no-deal Brexit.'

Row: The Camberwell flat where Boris and Carrie clashed last month

Row: The Camberwell flat where Boris and Carrie clashed last month

The couple have bought a £1.3 million love nest together, The Mail on Sunday revealed today.

They completed on the property, close to Ms Symonds' flat in south London, last week after deciding to ‘put down roots’ together a year after their romance was revealed.

On Friday she was seen moving furniture into the three-storey Victorian house in Camberwell with her mum Josephine Mcaffee as Mr Johnson reached the last few days of his campaign to become Prime Minister.

It is understood that Ms Symonds, 31, wanted to get the house ready whether he is named PM on Tuesday or not and that their purchase won’t stop her from moving into Number 10 with her boyfriend when the time is right for the pair of them.

Although their new home is less than three miles from Downing Street, they wanted to invest in their own property so they had a base - in case Boris doesn’t beat Jeremy Hunt next week, or if he does successfully win his bid, for when he is no longer PM.

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