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Theresa May to resign as prime minister | Theresa May to resign as prime minister |
(32 minutes later) | |
Theresa May has said she will quit as Conservative leader on 7 June, paving the way for a contest to decide a new prime minister. | |
In an emotional statement in Downing St, she said she had "done my best" to honour the 2016 EU referendum result. | |
It would remain a matter of "deep regret" that she had been unable to deliver Brexit, she added. | |
Mrs May said she will continue to serve as prime minister while a Conservative leadership contest takes place. | |
She will step down as Tory leader on 7 June and a leadership contest is due to begin the following week. | |
The prime minister has faced a backlash from her MPs against her latest Brexit plan, which included concessions aimed at attracting cross-party support. | |
Andrea Leadsom quit as Commons leader on Wednesday saying she no longer believed it would "deliver on the referendum result". | |
Mrs May met Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt at Downing Street on Thursday where they are understood to have expressed their concerns about the bill. | |
In her statement on Friday, she said that in order to deliver Brexit, her successor would have to build a consensus in Parliament. | |
"Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise," she said. | |
Mrs May's voice shook as she ended her speech saying: "I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold. | |
"The second female prime minister, but certainly not the last. | |
"I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love." |