Michael Gove: "I don't have charisma but I will deliver change"

Michael Gove has said that he did not want the task of becoming Conservative party leader and prime minister, but that he did not believe that Boris Johnson was the right man for the job.

The justice secretary launched his bid to take over the party on Friday, after current PM David Cameron said he will resign in October after a failed campaign to keep Britain in the European Union. Gove and Johnson were two of the most prominent figures in the successful campaign to take Britain out of the bloc.

The justice secretary launched his bid to take over the party on Friday

"I did not want it, I did almost everything I could not to be in this position. I don’t have glamour or charisma," Gove said.

"I am standing for one reason alone, for this country I love … to embrace this change."

Gove said that he believed Boris Johnson had many formidable talents, but that he was not the right person to lead the country in the next few years.

"That realisation meant that I once more faced a difficult decision. Could I recommend to friends, colleagues and the country, a course in which I no longer believed? I could not."

"I had to stand up for my convictions. I had to stand up for a different course for this country and stand for the leadership of this party."

Gove said that he believed Boris Johnson had many formidable talents, but that he was not the right person to lead the country

In a speech that lasted around half an hour to outline his position with regards to his candidacy, Gove promised to tackle immigration by introducing a points system for immigrants.

"I will end free movement, introduce an Australian-style points system and bring numbers down. With my leadership, it will be delivered."

He also promised to keep £100mn of the £350mn figure that was originally pledged by the Remain campaign to be redirected towards the National Health Service.