Boris Johnson used his final speech as prime minister to make a thinly veiled swipe at the Tory MPs who ousted him.
In his valedictory speech outside 10 Downing Street, Johnson said: “They changed the rules halfway through, but never mind that now.”
The comment appeared to be a dig at the MPs who moved against him and pushed him to resign.
He emerged from the door of No.10 with his wife Carrie and was applauded by Tory MPs and officials as he approached the podium.
As soon as he started speaking, protesters began playing “Bye Bye Boris” just outside Downing Street.
The song is a remix of “Bye Bye Baby” which anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray and his supporters often play during protests.
Johnson told the crowd: “Thank you everybody for coming out so early this morning. In only a couple of hours I will be in Balmoral to see Her Majesty the Queen and the torch will finally be passed to a new Conservative leader.
“The baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race.
“They changed the rules halfway through, but never mind that now.”
The outgoing PM went on to highlight his government’s record on Brexit, support for Ukraine and the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Hinting at what he plans to do next, Johnson said: “On the subject of bouncing around in future careers, let me say that I am now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function.
“And I will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the Pacific.”
He went on to compare himself to Cincinnatus - a Roman statesman who resigned and returned to his farm.
“Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough and I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support,” Johnson said.
He called on Tory MPs to get behind the new prime minister Liz Truss, saying “it’s time for politics to be over, folks”.
Johnson said: “This is a tough time for the economy. This is a tough time for families up and down the country.”
The departing PM will travel to Balmoral to formally resign as prime minister at an audience with the Queen.
Truss will then arrive separately for her audience, when she will be asked to form a government and become prime minister.
The event, referred to as the “kissing of hands”, usually takes place at Buckingham Palace.
Truss will then return to Downing Street to deliver her first speech as prime minister outside No.10 at about 4pm.
It is then expected the that the new cabinet will be formed over the course of the next few hours.