Liz Truss has resigned as Prime Minister.
Ms Truss made the announcement outside Downing Street on Thursday afternoon.
She said in the statement that she told the King she is resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.
With her husband Hugh O’Leary alongside her, Liz Truss said: “I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability.
“Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills.”
Vladimir Putin’s “illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent”.
She said the UK had been “held back for too long by low economic growth”.
“I recognise… given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.”
Liz Truss has said she will stay on as Prime Minister until a successor is chosen via a leadership election to be held within the next week.
Speaking in Downing Street, she said: “This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.
“We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.
“This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.
“I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.
“Thank you.”
It comes after a chaotic 24 hours which saw the home secretary step down for breaching the ministerial code ahead of dramatic scenes in Parliament as Tory MPs were ordered to vote against a fracking ban.
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