The sooner zombie Prime Minister Boris Johnson is out of No 10 the better - The Yorkshire Post says

He is a Prime Minister who is in office but not in power, going on extraordinarily expensive jollies while the taxpayer sweats.

Indeed Labour accused Mr Johnson of having already “clocked off” from his job as PM over his failure to lead Cobra meetings in response to the heatwave, as it also transpired he had hosted a party for friends at Chequers over the weekend.

Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse, who has chaired the meetings, claimed it was unfair to criticise the Mr Johnson, insisting he had been fully briefed on the situation.

But would it not be a sign of reassurance to the country that its PM is taking seriously the travel disruption, closed schools and health warnings the UK is facing amid potentially record temperatures?

If he insists on holding office until the autumn despite his resignation, he must show he is fully committed. It came, of course, as MPs staged a vote of confidence in the Government amid renewed opposition calls for Mr Johnson to step down immediately.

Meanwhile, the Tory leadership hopefuls were apparently so fearful of the television cameras that a Sky News debate scheduled for broadcast last night had to be cancelled after ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss pulled out.

Conservative MPs were reportedly concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the party’s image.

Their zombie Prime Minister is taking good care of that – the sooner he is out of No 10 Downing Street the better.

But those vying to take over his role must step up and show they can heal a nation in the grip of crisis.