In a move which has taken the Westminster circles and the rest of the country by surprise, Boris Johnson has said he will not be running in the Conservative Party leadership contest.

Despite being at the forefront of the Brexit campaign with Nigel Farage , the Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP said: "Having consulted colleagues and in view of the circumstances in Parliament, I have concluded that person cannot be me."

In the speech this morning, the west London MP also alluded to a "backstabbing" from fellow Tory Michael Gove, who announced his own desire be in the running only hours earlier on Thursday (June 30) morning.

He quoted Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, saying it was “a time not to fight against the tide of history but to take that tide at the flood and sail on to fortune”, a quote originally uttered by Brutus, Caesar's friend who became his assassin.

Watch Boris Johnson's speech in full

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It has been reported Justice Secretary Gove was unsure about Boris' leadership after an email from his wife expressed doubt about his position should he serve under Boris.

Speaking to the BBC, Gove said: ""Boris is an amazing and impressive person" - but not committed enough to carrying out Brexit."

Amidst all the chaos, social media users have provided some humour to the political sphere and after hearing Boris had dropped out of the race, went in overdrive.

Here are some of the internet's best reactions.

1. The perfect scenario gone wrong, as one twitter user compares Boris' week to this moment

2. Another flagged up a very fitting clip from the Simpsons

3. It wasn't just Boris who was scrutinised - The Daily Express was quickly picked up on after this front page

4. Meanwhile, older pictures of Boris looking slightly maniacal have emerged, complete with their own caption

5. Of course, some people felt it was important to point out why anyone would trust Boris after a few incidents in the past

6. An explosion of memes wouldn't be right if there wasn't one centred around Mean Girls

7. Naturally, nothing can tell the story of Boris' U-turn quite like the clip of this baby

8. Even journalists were surpised by what happened, as this shows

9. And what's all of this without some exclusive images to show Cameron's reaction?