“The race to succeed David Cameron as prime minister of Britain was turned upside down on Thursday when Boris Johnson, widely seen as the leading candidate, chose at the last minute not to run, after his close ally Michael Gove challenged him for the job,” the New York Times reports.

“The unexpected turn of events was the latest political aftershock from Britain’s vote last week to leave the European Union, and it could benefit another candidate, Theresa May, the home secretary, who laid out her case on Thursday for why she should lead the party.”

BBC: “Mr Johnson’s unexpected – and dramatic – announcement that he would not stand for Tory leader or prime minister, positions he is long thought to have harboured ambitions for, has dramatically altered the race.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was born in New York, says he intends to renounce his American citizenship to prove his “commitment to Britain,” the BBC reports.

He said that his citizenship was “an accident of birth that has left me with this thing. I’ve got to find a way of sorting it out.”

The Telegraph says Johnson, who is running for a seat in Parliament, would be “removing a potential obstacle to becoming Prime Minister.”