Former Tory leadership candidate Rory Stewart has quit the Conservative Party and will stand down at the next General Election.
He will now run as an independent candidate to become London mayor.
The former Cabinet minister was among the 21 rebels who had the whip removed by Boris Johnson when he defied him in the Commons by backing a move designed to block a No-Deal Brexit.
The Penrith and The Border MP ran against Johnson in the race to lead his party in June, but on Friday he announced his decision to quit.
A former Cabinet colleague said she's "certain" he'll return to politics.
Soon after the initial announcement, Stewart revealed he was standing for London mayor.
The 2020 mayoral election will pit him against Labour incumbent Sadiq Khan and Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey, who was backed by Mr Johnson in his Tory conference speech on Wednesday.
Stewart warned of the danger of Brexit to the capital and said he wanted to combat "extremism" in British politics as London mayor.
"I'm leaving that Gothic shouting chamber of Westminster, I'm getting away from a politics which makes me sometimes feel as though (US president Donald) Trump has never left London," he said.
I am running as an Independent candidate for Mayor of London, and here’s why.
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) October 4, 2019
Please join me in my campaign: https://t.co/8y3xWpl9hY#Rory4London pic.twitter.com/jnaNy8IF0s
The SNP MP Kirsty Blackman said Stewart's resignation was a damning indictment of the Prime Minister.
She said: "When even leading Tories are no longer willing to put up with Boris Johnson and his devastating plans for an extreme Brexit - why should Scotland?
"It is vital opposition parties urgently unite to get rid of this appalling government, secure an extension and call an election - it is reckless and dangerous to keep this man in power."
She added: "Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU – but now we face being dragged out against our will, on the hardest terms, by a Tory government we didn't vote for. It is clear Westminster isn't working for Scotland and our interests are being completely ignored.
"The SNP will put Scotland's opposition to Brexit and our right to choose our own future as an independent country at the heart of the coming election. It is clearer than ever that the only way to properly protect Scotland's interests is to become an independent country."
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