Boris Johnson: 'Never mind the backstop, the buck stops here'

The U.K's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a message for his doubters.

In his first speech upon taking the mantle from former Prime Minister Theresa May, Johnson stood outside no. 10 Downing Street and in near-Seussian verse told the assembled that "the doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters," are going to "get it wrong again." Fear not, Johnson said, the new government will "restore trust" in British democracy with the assurance the country will leave the European Union in October no matter what, though he did stress that he is intent on getting a new and improved deal done to make that happen.

"I have every confidence that in 99 days time, we will have cracked it," he said.

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Easier said than done, of course. The Irish border still remains an issue and the EU's negotiators don't appear ready to cave to Johnson's demands. But Johnson said he's ready to take full responsibility for getting a deal done.

He also promised that even without the Irish border backstop — which he described as "anti-democratic" — he is convinced his deal would still prevent checks at the border. As for the 3.2 million EU nationals living and working in the U.K., Johnson assured them that they will have "the absolutely certainty of the right to live and remain" in the country. Tim O'Donnell