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Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron speaks outside Number 10 Downing Street in London. Photo: Reuters

PM David Cameron chokes back tears as he announces resignation on day Britons ignored his plea to stay in EU

Boris Johnson, a likely contender for the top job, was booed by crowds as he left his London home

Brexit

Prime Minister David Cameron announced Friday he will resign after Britons voted to leave the European Union despite his campaign to keep it in the bloc.

Cameron, who choked back tears, promised to try to “steady the ship” over the next months and did not give a precise timetable for his departure but said a new leader should be installed by early October.

“I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination,” the British leader said outside his Downing Street residence in London.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha walk back into 10 Downing street after speaking to the press. Photo: AFP

He said his successor should trigger the formal process for Britain to leave the European Union.

“I think it’s right that this new prime minister takes the decision about when to trigger Article 50,” Cameron said.

I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination
Prime Minister David Cameron

“I would also reassure Brits living in European countries and European citizens living here that there will be no immediate changes in your circumstances.”

Flanked by his wife Samantha, Cameron said he had fought to retain Britain’s membership of the EU “head, heart and soul - I held nothing back”.

But he added: “The British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path and as such, I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction.”

Leave campaign leader Boris Johnson leaves his home after Britain voted to leave the European Union. Photo: Reuters

Britons decided by 52 per cent to 48 per cent in favour of quitting the EU, a margin of more than one million votes, final results showed.

Quitting the EU could cost Britain access to the EU’s trade barrier-free single market and mean it must seek new trade accords with countries around the world. The United Kingdom itself could break apart, with leaders in Scotland - where nearly two-thirds of voters wanted to stay in the EU - calling for a new vote on independence.

The EU for its part will be economically and politically damaged, facing the departure not only of its most free-market proponent but also a member with a UN Security Council veto and powerful army. In one go, the bloc will lose around a sixth of its economic output. Populist leaders in France and the Netherlands demanded their own referendums to leave.

The vote will initiate at least two years of divorce proceedings with the EU, the first exit by any member state. Cameron, who has been premier for six years, said it would be up to his successor to formally start the exit process.

 

His departure set off an intense Conservative Party leadership battle.

But Cameron’s Conservative Party rival Boris Johnson, the former London mayor who became the most recognisable face of the “leave” camp, is now widely tipped to seek his job.

Johnson was booed and jeered as he left his London home on Friday.

He said nothing to waiting reporters as he was escorted to his car by police officers with shouts of “scumbag” ringing in his ear.

Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press

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