it's over. in two weeks' time theresa may will resign as leader of the conservative party. in a statement delivered outside number ten, mrs may said she would remain in downing street until a new leader is elected in july. it is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that i have not been able to deliver brexit. it will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum. her voice cracking with emotion as she said she left with no ill will and enormous gratitude. 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. this lunchtime, the prime minster returned to her berkshire constiuency. she's a darn good constituency mp. i'll be sad to see her go, very sad. she got lumbered with a job that no—one wanted and i think it was a bit harsh on her really, but what can you say? we will have all the latest reaction to the prime minister's momentous statement. and the other news this lunchtime. why testing someone‘s navigation of a virtual reality landscape could help detect the early signs of alzheimers. and, we have a sneak preview of the largest exhibition of leonardo da vinci's work for more than 60 years.

and coming up later on the bbc news channel, we'll be getting more analysis from our correspondents and reaction from politicians around the country to the prime minister's announcement she's stepping down. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one from downing street, where three hours ago, theresa may announced her resignation, her voice cracking with emotion as she said she'd be leaving the job it had been the honour of her life to hold. in a statement delivered outside number ten, mrs may said it would always be a matter of deep regret that she'd been unable to deliver brexit. she'll resign as party leader formally

on 7th june, then stay on as caretaker prime minister, while the party decides her successor. theresa may has agreed with the chairman of tory backbenchers that the leadership contest should begin the following week on the iothjune. that contest is expected to take six weeks, which would mean we could have a new prime minister in place by the end ofjuly. our political correspondent nick eardley reports. after months of intense pressure, her husband and top aides watching, theresa may admitted for her, for her brexit plan, it's over.” theresa may admitted for her, for her brexit plan, it's over. i have done everything i can to convince mps to back that deal. sadly, i have not been able to do so. i tried three times. i believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. but it

is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort. so i am today announcing that i will resign as leader of the conservative party and unionist party on friday the 7th ofjune so that a successor can be chosen. she hasn't been able to call the shots for some time, unable to persuade a bitterly divided parliament to back a brexit plan. and after a last throw of the dice this week, the pm concluded she just could not go on. it is, and will always remain, a matter of deep regret to me that i have not been able to deliver brexit. it will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum. to succeed, he or she, will have to find consensus in parliament where i have not. such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise. that will be easier said

than done. misses may leaves behind a party that split on what comes next. the latest in a long line of tory leaders brought down over europe. our politics may be under strain, but there is so much that is good about this country. so much to be proud of. so much to be optimistic about. 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. an intensely human moment from the prime minister many have seen as robotic. politics can be a painful business. theresa may had insisted for months that her brexit plan was

the only show in town, but today she has admitted defeat and handed the difficult task to her successor, trying to get something perhaps anything through parliament. the race to replace mrs may will officially begin in a fortnight, and the party won someone new in here by mid—july. the party won someone new in here by mid-july. this is not an episode of game of thrones. this is governing out game of thrones. this is governing our country. the people of this country have voted to leave the european union and we have to deliver that. and on of a contract that parliament is made. but amid friendly tributes, theresa may's legacy will be complex, with considerable criticism over his strategy. she clearly cannot command a majority in parliament. she clearly has lost the confidence of her own mps. clearly has lost the confidence of herown mps. in clearly has lost the confidence of her own mps. in all the discussions she's been having with her mps, they've all said one thing to her, that they don't support her strategy. you've got to recognise there is a need for a change of direction in this country. and she not offered it, and i would be very

surprised if any of her success offered it. shortly after announcing her departure plans, theresa may left downing street for her constituency. time to reflect on what went wrong, perhaps what could have been done differently. soon misses may will be departing number ten for good. our assistant political editor norman smith is with me. the issue of europe yet again consuming another conservative prime minister but real emotion at the end of that statement we watched here in downing street from the prime minister. surprising in one way because misses may has always been a very controlled, very reserved politician, less so in another way because with these sorts of resignations always comes a degree of personal rejection, being dismissed to make way for the next person, and i also think it must‘ve been the realisation that her premiership has ended in failure.

failure to deliver brexit. and all politicians tend to be obsessed with their place in history and i suspect their place in history and i suspect the history books will define misses may as the prime minister was unable to deliver on brexit and it was interesting in her resignation statement, slightly defensive element saying i did my best, i tried to get a deal which took us out, protected the economy, i tried three times to get it through parliament and was unable to do so. and there was that pointed moment when she said to her successor, whoever comes after her, compromise is not a dirty word. and i thought that interesting because it carried with it a message, don't think you can gallop off towards no deal, and don't think you can abandon brexit altogether. but it did seem to me, her critics will say, well, perhaps if mrs may had listened to that advice herself, much earlier in her premiership, and actually tried to

reach out, then the sort of deal she put together in the last few days might actually have got through parliament. she might still be prime minister and she might have been the prime minister who deliver brexit. all right, norman, thank you. after the divisions over europe were laid bare by the referendum three years ago, theresa may came to office with the task of bringing together both the conservative party and the country. but she leaves with those divisions unresolved. our chief political correspondent vicki young reflects now on her premiership. theresa may rose to the top job at one of the most turbulent periods in british political history. after the uk's vote to leave the european union, david cameron dramatically resigned and extraordinary infighting amongst other leadership contenders left the path clear for mrs may to become the country's second female prime minister. as we leave the european union, we will forge a bold new positive role for ourselves in the world, and we will make britain a country that works not for a privileged few

but for every one of us. during her first months as prime minister, she was under constant pressure to lay out her approach to brexit negotiations but refused to give much away. brexit means brexit, and we are going to make a success of it. becoming prime minister had been a long held ambition. the daughter of a vicar, theresa brazier, as she then was, was mainly state educated in oxfordshire before studying geography at oxford university. in her third year, she met her future husband, philip. after graduating, mrs may went to work in the city but she saw her future in politics. she became a councillor in south london and, after standing for parliament twice, she was elected the mp for maidenhead in 1997. the conservative party at westminster was dominated by men but theresa may dared to flaunt her feminine side, with a love of fashion and a flamboyant taste in shoes which fascinated photographers. as party chairman, she made the case

for conservative modernisation, telling her party some hard truths during their years in opposition. our base is too narrow and so, occasionally, are our sympathies. you know what some people call us? the nasty party. when david cameron became prime minister, he unexpectedly promoted theresa may to home secretary in the coalition government with the liberal democrats. despite failing to bring net migration down to the conservatives' target of the tens of thousands, she was the longest serving home secretary of modern times. but, as prime minister, she faced an even tougher challenge, steering the uk and her party through brexit. she triggered article 50, the formal notification telling brussels that britain would be leaving the eu. and then, this most cautious of politicians became one of westminster‘s biggest risk takers. since i became prime minister, i have said there should be no election until 2020. but now i have concluded that the only way to guarantee

certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions i must take. mrs may said she had called the general election to strengthen her hand in the brexit negotiations but her huge gamble backfired. she lost the conservatives their majority, only hanging on to power through a deal with the dup. her political misjudgement left her weakened. her attempts to reassert her authority did not always go according to plan. her message during this important conference speech was lost amid a catalogue of interruptions, a prankster, a faulty set, and persistent cough. excuse me. after months of negotiations with brussels, mrs may agreed a withdrawal deal but the compromise to avoid border checks on the island of ireland was not one that many in her party or her partners in government, the dup, could accept.

the ayes to the right, 202. the noes to the left, 432. that was an historic defeat in the commons and mps voted against it twice more. mrs may was forced to ask the eu for a delay to brexit. her last throw of the dice was to appeal to labour. weeks of talks got nowhere but she went ahead with her promise to mps that they could decide whether to hold a second referendum. it was too much for many conservatives. they watched as nigel farage's new brexit party surged in popularity and finally moved against her. theresa may never wanted brexit to define her time in office but the momentous decision to leave the european union was the backdrop to everything her government did. she was praised for her tenacity and sense of duty in the face of so many setbacks, but critics said she lacked vision and regarded brexit as a damage limitation exercise. once more, the issue of europe

has ended the career of a conservative leader. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. let's find out now how theresa may's announcement is being viewed across the uk. in a moment we'll hear from our correspondents emma vardy in londonderry and felicity evans in cardiff, but first sarah smith in glasgow. sarah. politicians here are of course trying to work out what theresa may's departure means for them and means for scotland. already nicola sturgeon has said that the prospect of what she calls an even more hardline brexiteer coming on as pm and threatening possibly no deal exit from the eu makes the case for scotla nd exit from the eu makes the case for scotland being allowed to choose an independent future, even more strongly. now of course she's been arguing for another referendum up in scottish reckon independence and that's what in the minds of scottish

tories as well, those who have been praising theresa may, have praised the commitment of the union, keeping scotla nd the commitment of the union, keeping scotland in the uk and the influential leader of the scottish conservatives ruth davidson says when it comes to selecting theresa may's successor, she will be looking for somebody who believes that scotland's place is firmly in the uk. now here is felicity evans in cardiff. well, the first minister of wales, mark dra keford, cardiff. well, the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, says he's never doubted theresa may's commitment to public service but he blames her inability to compromise for leaving us in a mess of her making, as he describes it, and he goes on to say that a conservative leadership contest is the country needs as we negotiate one of the biggest uncertainties we have faced in decades. but paul davies, the leader of conservative assembly members in the senate behind me, paid tribute to mrs may's dedication and he has urged his party to unite now to deliver the brexit that people voted for. interestingly, there was a welsh opinion poll

commissioned a few days ago asking welsh voters who they liked best for mrs may's successor and come at the moment, according to that, boris johnson is in front. lets get reaction in northern ireland now. emma vardy is in londonderry. some of theresa may's most difficult daysin some of theresa may's most difficult days in office were focused on trying to resolve the issues thrown up trying to resolve the issues thrown up by trying to resolve the issues thrown up by northern ireland and the irish border over brexit and some of those seemingly intractable problems posed by this place was a hurdle she never fully managed to overcome. theresa may never got northern ireland's dup to come on board with her deal and their confidence and supply arrangement with the conservatives is due to expire shortly after her successoi’ is due to expire shortly after her successor takes the reins. it is likely that will have to be renegotiated. the dup today have been pretty gracious and complimentary about theresa may but make no mistake, whoever steps into her shoes will face exactly the same

set of tricky circumstances with the dup, sinn fein of course, the nationalist party here at been very critical of the conservatives are possibly relationships with the du heat and all those tensions are still to be resolved over brexit dash maggot with the dup. thank you, emma, emma vardy in londonderry, the sarah smith in glasgow and felicity evans in cardiff. theresa may's time in office has been dominated by the issue of brexit and negotiations with the european union. 0ur correspondent adam fleming is in brussels. what is the reaction there to the news of her resignation statement? the european commission, the organisation that runs the brexit talks day, paid tribute to theresa may and said that the president of the commission, john juncker, took no personaljoy in the announcement of her resignation but said that as far as they are concerned, nothing has changed —— jingle junk. far as they are concerned, nothing has changed —— jinglejunk. they will have to wait

position and they will reactive hat. they have been statements and tweets from the irish prime minister, emmanuel macron, the chancellor of austria, the prime minister of belgium and it boils down to two things. they said thank you for being a good negotiating partner and not rocking the boat and secondly, the deal negotiated with the uk is the deal negotiated with the uk is the only one that is on the table and that is not changing and there is not a lot of room for any renegotiation. thank you, adam. adam fleming in brussels. i will have more reaction later on to the programme to the prime minister's statement and there is more on the bbc news channel and our website but for the moment, back to the studio. the time is 18 minutes past one. our top story this lunchtime. in two weeks' time, theresa may wil resign as leader of the conservative party. speaking outside number ten, mrs may said she would remain in office until a new leader is elected injuly.

it is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that i have not been able to deliver brexit. it will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honours the result of the referendum. coming up later in the bbc news channel, more analysis from our correspondence and reaction from around the country to the prime minister's announcement she is stepping down. a virtual reality programme could be better at spotting early signs of alzheimer's than the test doctors currently use. a system developed by university of cambridge researchers asks patients to navigate their way around a computer generated world, and then remember where they've been. the brain's internal sat nav is one of the first parts to be damaged in the early stages of the disease, as richard westcott explains.

it's not a pleasant thought, but alzheimer's can start to damage the brain years, even decades before anyone notices any symptoms. then one has this old shack there... so what we need is a way of detecting the disease before patients know they've got it. they are walking in the environment, they will see a cone appear in front of them with the number one. they have to follow a sequence of three cones, one, two, three, forming a triangle. at that point, all the cones disappear and participants had to walk back to where they thought they found cone number one. at one of the really early signs of alzheimer's is that you have a problem with your internal navigation system, your internal satnav, if you like, and that is what this system is testing. it is testing your ability to navigate your way around. it is very early days, but this research at cambridge university suggests virtual reality can identify the first signs of alzheimer's better than the current pen and paper tests

we have now. where i think this vr work goes is it shows that we can actually utilise that technology that is already out there in everyday life, and actually begin to detect these changes before people even know they have a problem. volunteer david has not shown any signs of the disease. i had had a pretty positive result beforehand so that i wasn't worried about discovering something that i didn't expect, but some of my friends are really rather afraid of what the results of this kind of testing might show about themselves. technology will play an ever greater role in our health. your phone can potentially spot changes that you can't see, from heartrate to blood pressure to the way you walk, talk, sleep and breathe. that then allows us,

as physicians, to get in there early in terms of diagnosing a condition early and treating something early in a proactive fashion rather than this traditional medical model of a reactive approach that we have been used to historically. i think that will change medicine utterly. so, an app could one day be diagnosing you long before you or your doctor know something is wrong. richard wescott, bbc news, cambridge. immigration to the uk from the european union has fallen to its lowest level in five years — 201,000 eu nationals moved here in 2018. figures from the office for national statistics show that the government remains a long way off its target to reduce overall net migration to fewer than 100,000. more than a thousand foreign students may have been removed from the uk, after being wrongly accused by the home office of cheating in english language tests. an investigation by the national audit office of the cancellation of about 30,000

visas for students from outside the eu acknowledges that some cheating did take place, but that some genuine applicants were unfairly targeted. all this week, as part of our "we are middlesbrough" series, we've been reporting from the town. and today, the one big weekend begins in middlesbrough, three days of live music, hosted by radio 1. miley cyrus and the 1975 are among those performing. newsbeat‘s nesta mcgregor is in stewart park. good afternoon and welcome to middlesbrough. i should start with the high vizjacket, it's not fashion, it is still technically a construction site! 0ver fashion, it is still technically a construction site! over the next three days, some of the biggest names in music will be on stage including the likes of miley cyrus as you said, rita 0ra, stormzy, sean paul, something for everyone's musical palette. speaking to people

in the last 2a hours, there is a real buzz around the town with people saying that things like this just don't happen to middlesbrough. also i have spoken to some vendors andi also i have spoken to some vendors and i have been told i have to try something which is breaded chicken topped with cheese! if the camera adds a few pounds at least i have an excuse! plenty to do apart from the music and food, there is a ferris wheel and a lot of other rides and entertainment. the party starts tonight with a dance me radio1djs annie mac and danny howard are on the bill and it is being headlined by mark ronson. if the weather stays like this, we should be in for some party. i hope it does, it looks glorious. thank you very much. he is best known for painting the mona lisa, but leonardo da vinci was also a revolutionary inventor and engineer, who is still having a huge influence today. to mark 500 years since his death, an exhibition of leonardo's drawings is about to open at buckingham palace.

0ur arts correspondent, david sillito has been given a first glimpse. more than 300 years ago, charles i! received a gift. a book. inside were sketches of some of the greatest paintings in history, inventions, how the body worked. it was a window into the mind of leonardo da vinci. but, for nearly 200 years, they remained stored in the archive. these drawings were first widely known only from the late 19th century and that's the point at which people finally understand what leonardo achieved during his lifetime, as a scientist, a thinker, an inventor. so much of that is only to be found in his drawings. so, if your knowledge leonardo begins and ends with the mona lisa, this introduces you to leonardo the military engineer. and as we go down, we have leonardo the physicist, leonardo the anatomist, and i love this down here, this is the arm of st peter, it's from the last supper, a painting which has suffered over

the years but this reveals what it originally looked like. and that is what all this does. it shows you the full leonardo, the genius leonardo, the leonardo revealed by the drawings. and new secrets are being uncovered. what appears a blank piece of paper, science can now reveal the drawing that disappeared. and this figure, the distinctive beard a clue, this is, they say, leonardo himself. his beard was very distinctive. it was commented on by his contemporaries, this beautiful, well—kept beard which rises up his cheek with little spirals at the corner of the mouth. these rather mournful eyes gazing into the distance. i think this is an exact match with the proper portrait of him that we have. there is so much. a design here for what looks like a modern ballistic missile. this anatomical drawing even has his finger print. but it ends with these dark, swirling images.

these drawings of a great deluge destroying the earth and sweeping away all matter capture leonardo's feelings of the impermanence of all things, and i think, looking back over his career, he must have seen it, by his own standards, as something of a failure. he had failed to achieve so much... i'm sorry, a failure? leonardo da vinci? yeah, so much of his sculpture and architecture and engineering was never made, his scientific researches were never finished, relatively few paintings completed. what he wanted to achieve far outstripped what he actually achieved. the man behind the mona lisa was a fountain of ideas but so much of his work and his genius remained just an idea. david sillito, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. approaching the bank holiday, no pressure! i was hoping you weren't going to ask! but it is going to be mixed. the weather will be turning much

more unsettled heading into the bank holiday weekend because all this cloud will come in from the atlantic and bring some rain also we already have some cloud pushing in head a bit for northern ireland and here in wales, in the south—west of england and north—west england and they could be some light showers as well further east. a beautiful day on the coast in north yorkshire, in scarborough, the best of sunshine in yorkshire, south—eastern scotland and down into east anglia. a lot of cloud in northern and north—western scotland, still breezy and a bit of rain so temperatures are struggling to about 12 degrees at the best default to about 12 degrees at the best d efa u lt of to about 12 degrees at the best default of the highest temperatures are in the sunshine in the south—east, up to 22 degrees. we could get a few showers in south wales and southern england to end the day and this evening they will fade away. if you are not far away from the north sea coast but on the whole, dry tonight, a lot of cloud, bubbly chili estate in northern areas, six or 7 degrees. —— properly

the cellist. while there will be some sunshine over the weekend, there will still be rain, mainly affecting northern and western areas of the uk but for all of us, the temperatures will drop away, turning cooler. 0n temperatures will drop away, turning cooler. on saturday, the cloud comes in from the atlantic into northern ireland, so a bit damp and drizzly. rain in scotland later and further south, some spells of sunshine, a few showers in the south—east but warm in the sunshine, 20—22d. further north, they are pegged back because of the low cloud, rain and drizzle. that is coming on that front but remember, there is another band of cloud coming which will bring some showery rain and push it across all areas on sunday. for a while, it could be heavy rain in scotland. it will linger in the north of scotland. sunshine and showers in northern ireland, southern scotland and northern england. this band heads to the south—east through the afternoon and ahead of it, temperatures could

reach 21 degrees but there is cooler and fresher air coming behind the rain from the north—west. that is how we end up on bank holiday monday. still showers, how we end up on bank holiday monday. stillshowers, may be how we end up on bank holiday monday. still showers, may be some longer spells of rain. the wettest weather in northern parts of the uk, probably dry for the most part in the south—east but temperatures dropping away. 13 in the central belt of scotland and the high in the south—east of england on back, they monday of 18 degrees. thank you very much. let's return to our main story and ben is in downing street. thank you. theresa may has been the mp for the berkshire market town of maidenhead for more than two decades. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy has been hearing what her constituents thought of her resignation announcement, and their views on the extraordinary difficulties she faced in office. from brexit to berkshire. the prime minister headed from downing street

to home to