HIGHLIGHTS-Boris Johnson speaks after becoming UK prime minister

Boris Johnson made his first speech after becoming British Prime Minister on Wednesday. Following are highlights of his comments as he spoke to the media outside 10 Downing Street.

ON THERESA MAY

"I pay tribute to the fortitude and patience of my predecessor, and her deep sense of public service but in spite of all her efforts (it has become clear that) there are pessimists at home and abroad who think after three years of indecision this country has become a prisoner to the old arguments of 2016, and in this home of democracy we are incapable of honoring a democratic mandate. And so I am standing before you today to tell you the British people those critics are wrong."

ON THE BREXIT BACKSTOP

"Never mind the backstop. The buck stops here."

Also Read: UPDATE 5-Boris Johnson takes control of Brexit as Britain's new prime minister