this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 11pm: theresa may has decided to call it a day after failing to deliver brexit. idoso i do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country i love. two two two as she left to spend the weekend in her two two two constituency, some colleagues expressed sympathy with her plight. the prime minister has put her heart in seoul trying to do the best for this country at a challenging time —— heartand this country at a challenging time —— heart and soul. her departure from no 10 changes nothing says labour, saying it's the country that should decide who's prime minister. i think we need a general election

stop we don't need another tory leader installed by tory mps. and at 11:30pm, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers martin bentham and jason beattie. stay with us for that. good evening. after much speculation and pressure from within her own party and cabinet, theresa may has said she will resign as conservative leader, after nearly three turbulent years in office. there should be a new prime minister in place by the end ofjuly. mrs may said she'd done her best to deliver brexit, and it was a matter of deep regret that she'd failed to do so. mrs may will step down as party leader on the 7th ofjune,

but will stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen. the race for the conservative leadership will begin formally on the 10th ofjune, with tory mps selecting two candidates, with the winner being chosen by party members. the final result is expected by the end ofjuly, with the successful candidate becoming britain's new prime minister. mrs may warned her successor that he or she would need to seek compromise to deliver brexit. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports on theresa may's departure. it was time. time to go to work, although the job has slipped away. good morning, lovely weather. for confidantes to choreograph the exit rather than plan the future. time to confront the truth. a broken government, a broken leader. time to forget distractions. the men in suits walk out. then silence drops.

as with every leader, it's lonely at the end. the cameras click just for them. ever since i first stepped through the door behind me as prime minister, i have striven to make the united kingdom a country that works notjust for a privileged few, but for everyone and to honour the result of the eu referendum. i negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closest neighbours that protects jobs, our security and our union. 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 and unionist party on friday the seventh of june. painful for her inner circle after all the agony of trying to get parliament on side for someone else to try now. 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. but her efforts to deal first with her party, then labour, came crashing down, with the country watching this inscrutable leader, human after all.

this country is a union, notjust a family of four nations, but a union of people. all of us, whatever our background, the colour of our skin or who we love, we stand together and together we have a great future. 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. for so long, theresa may fought

and fought to hold onto her party, to hold onto her premiership, but that struggle is now exhausted, her time in office nearly done. there's no immediate exit. she'll stay until a new leader is chosen by the tory party at the end ofjuly. but who? coy for now. i think the prime minister has put her heart and soul into trying to do the best for this country at a difficult time, facing a challenging climate in parliament. and i know that the prime minister has always striven to do what she believes is best for this country. the first cabinet minister in a race of rivals confirmed in a meeting in his constituency he'd run just a few hours later. her passion was to deliver the referendum result, the brexit referendum results. that will now be someone else's responsibility, and whoever succeeds in doing that will know

that she laid the foundations. and no prizes for guessing who will also be one of a cast of maybe more than a dozen, speaking at a conference in switzerland today. i do not wish to elaborate now on what we are going to do and how we are going to do it, but believe me you will be hearing possibly more about that than you necessarily want to hear. laughter but they all know tory prime ministers often depart downing street because of europe. it is a very big moment, a very sad moment, but she cared passionately about the job and the country and she wanted to serve the publicjust as i did. when you come to that moment, you know your time is up, it's extremely hard to take. any of them would have to wrangle the same divided party, eurosceptics ready to do almost anything to get their way. politicians have to make sure their words and their deeds match, that's very important. so whose fault is this then? herfault? well, wasn't it harry truman who had

in his office the motto "the buck stops here"? the buck always stops in downing street, it must do. someone has to answer these climate change protesters' questions. "where is the government?" a question for all of us. who will lead? there has to be an opportunity for the people of this country to decide who they want to be in their government, how they want the government to run, what the long—term strategy is of that government. i think we need a general election. our politics problems won't disappear with a new tory leader. i'm not sure her departure changes the fundamentals of brexit. brexit is an utter mess, and it looks to me like the only way to resolve that mess is to put the issue back to the people. you cannot see power, you cannot touch power, but in this street you feel it profoundly when it has fallen away. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster.

laura kuenssberg there. there's been no shortage of speculation over recent months about the next likely tenant of number 10. mrs may's announcement today encouraged a much more open discussion about the party's options and the qualities and credentials of those with leadership ambitions. our correspondent ben wright has been looking at the likely contenders. thejob of picking the next prime minister is in the hands of tory mps and conservative party members. a contest that has already been brewing for weeks will kick off officially on friday, june the seventh, the date theresa may will stand down as tory leader. nominations begin the following week. under the pa rty‘s rules, conservative mps will whittle down the field of candidates through a series of votes until a final two remain. and those two candidates will then battle it out to win a vote of the tory grassroots — around 120,000 conservative party members who are largely male, middle class and have an average age of 57. so, who might stand? well, it's likely to be a very crowded field.

around 17 tory mps are considering a crack at number ten, and five have said that they'll definitely run, including borisjohnson. the 54—year—old former foreign secretary is the likely frontrunner. the figurehead of the leave campaign is popular among the membership but less admired by a chunk of tory mps, who may try and thwart his path to number 10. another leave believer, dominic raab, is also likely to run, and the former brexit secretary is popular on the right of the party. there's the environment secretary, michael gove, who backed leave but has stayed loyal to mrs may. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, is going for it. he campaigned for remain in the referendum but has since stressed his commitment to brexit, as has the home secretary, sajid javid. the leave supporter and former work and pensions secretary esther mcvey says she is definitely running. and andrea leadsom, who stood against theresa may last time before pulling out, may also try again. there will be more, many more, who go for it. a new prime minister will be

in place by the time parliament breaks up for the summer recess in latejuly. but whoever goes through this door in a few weeks' time will face the same challenges that mrs may will soon leave behind — a deadlocked parliament, a brexit deal the eu says is closed, and a deeply divided country. that was ben wright. so, the person who'll move in to number 10 in a couple of months' time will be chosen by members of the conservative party, around 120,000 of them, whose instincts on brexit will no doubt be a key factor in the outcome. for a view on mrs may's departure, and what lies ahead, our correspondent alex forsyth went to meet members of the conservative association at reading university. hitting younger voters has proved elusive at times for the tories. these students are supporters and members of reading university's conservative association. theresa may is their patron. many have campaigned alongside her. so what of her decision to step down?

i think it's a really sad day. i think she's tried her best for the country, and it's always sad to see someone forced out of office. anyone pleased to see her go? yes. laughter for me, she should have gone after the election. she hasn't really listened or heeded advice from anyone else. i think we need a new leader, a new direction, hopefully someone who can get the brexit business finished once and for all so we can move on. these young tory members will vote in the upcoming leadership contest. even here, views are divided. for me, it has to be a brexiteer, because we've got to fight the brexit party. the brexit party could potentially do very well at the expense of the conservative party. is that the consensus? no, i'd rather see sort of a middle ground. and while brexit should definitely take place, it has to be done in an effective way that is going to please, you know, the most amount of people as possible. i think there needs to be compromise. the next generation of voters says a new approach is needed to keep the party relevant.

there has to be a real change of direction for the rest of the young people to come on board, otherwise we're just going to end up with the same result of, you know, the older people voting for the conservatives, and young people just being disaligned with the cause. we need someone that can come in and sell conservative ideology, and that is charismatic and outgoing. theresa may hasn't been that. so, for me, someone like boris would be able to do that. ijust think he's a bit of a clown. i think a lot of young people think that too. they aren't sure any leader can easily overcome the europe question. i don't think it's possible, really. i think it's going to, like, carry on until we leave. while brexit is really important, i think you then also need to look at the wider politics as a whole and actually have a plan for the future and not just right now. are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic about the party's prospects at this point? 0ptimistic. i'm more pessimistic. i think, for any leader, they're not going to be able to get anything past parliament. the party will be fine. i mean, it's been through ups and downs through its whole history, and it's quite a long history,

so i think it will be fine no matter what. that might depend on the next leader. alex forsyth, bbc news, reading. the views of some young conservative members in reading. but what about the view in other parts of the uk where the perspective on brexit can also be very different? in a moment, we'll hear from emma vardy in belfast and sian lloyd in cardiff, but first, let's hear from our scotland editor sarah smith in glasgow. politicians here are of course trying to work out what a new prime minister could mean for scotland. nicola sturgeon has wasted no time in saying that a new tory leader could strengthen the case for scottish independence. she says if a hardline brexiteer takes scottish independence. she says if a ha rdline brexiteer takes over, scottish independence. she says if a hardline brexiteer takes over, if there is a prospect of the uk leaving the eu with no deal, then that makes it all the more important that makes it all the more important that scotland should be given a chance to decide whether or not it wa nts to chance to decide whether or not it wants to be an independent country, and that's exactly why scottish tories will be looking for a leader who will do what theresa may did and

refused to allow another referendum on scottish independence. the leader of the scottish conservatives, ruth davidson, said she will back a conservative candidate who chose their deeply committed to scotland remaining in the uk, and she says she's looking for somebody who would bea she's looking for somebody who would be a unifier, who would try and bring the whole country together again. well, here in northern ireland, it was those issues thrown up by the irish border during the brexit negotiations that theresa may never really fully overcame, and she never persuaded her supposing allies, northern ireland's democratic unionist party, to support her deal. now, that confidence—and—supply arrangement with the dup, something the nationalist party here have been critical of, that arrangement is due to expire and will need to be renegotiated shortly after theresa may's successor takes office. now, further south tonight in the

republic of ireland, irish prime minister lee over radtke said theresa may's resignation could be very dangerous for ireland. it is the country that could be potentially the most exposed to the effects of a hard brexit and if there were to be a brexiteer eurosceptic there were to be a brexiteer eurosce ptic candidate taking there were to be a brexiteer eurosceptic candidate taking on the new prime minister's role and could go for a no deal brexit. for all that, some trepidation in ireland tonight and some nervousness in northern ireland too, a place where the majority of people chose to remain, about who who steps into theresa may's shoes. here in cardiff bake, the labour first minister mark drakeford has said that conservative leadership contest is the last thing the country needs right now. welsh conservatives politicians have praised theresa may's determination but they are calling for the country to come together to deliver on the brexit people voted for. overall

wales voted to leave the european union and there's a feeling both conservatives and labour here will feel the impact of a surge of support for the brexit party when the results of the european elections are announced. sian lloyd. whoever steps in to number 10 as prime minister, he or she will have the same basic challenge as theresa may. they'll have to try to deliver brexit, while parliament seems incapable of agreeing on a way forward. and to underline the scale of the challenge, the european union said today that mrs may's resignation did nothing to change its position on the brexit agreement theresa may negotiated. so what lies ahead for the brexit process? 0ur deputy political editor, john pienaar reports. everyone expected this, the fourth tory premier in a row forced out over europe. the only real shock was seeing her heartbreak on show. now the same deadlock that brought theresa may down

is waiting for the next one. the numbers have not changed in parliament. the challenge, the significant challenge, of seeing that we leave the eu and deliver on the brexit referendum with a deal, which remains firmly in our national interest, that challenge still firmly remains. what do we want? brexit! the brexiteers are strong and getting stronger, among conservative mps and their democratic unionist allies. and with nigel farage scooping up tory supporters, pressure for a tough line on brexit won't let up. until we deliver brexit, nothing else really counts. if we don't deliver brexit, there won't be a conservative party, so there's no point in talking about other things until we deliver brexit. for months, this issue's split the country. at westminster, rival factions are dug in deep. if all we do is talk about brexit and we pivot towards no deal, we will not move in

the polls and eventually, we will simply hand the keys of number 10 tojeremy corbyn. the riders and runners for leader are off. expect lots of promises to make up for lost time and get a better deal in brussels that mps can get behind. but so far, summit after summit, nothing but failure, staying close to eu rules and standards rejected by mps, including those meant to avoid a hard eu border with ireland. yesterday the european commission president told german tv... translation: what can someone else achieve that she didn't? and the irish leader, voting today, is saying britain could see a general election, a new referendum, maybe a no—deal brexit. british politics is consumed by brexit and will be consumed by brexit for a very long time. it means that we now enter a new phase when it comes to brexit, and a phase that may be a very dangerous one for ireland. if leadership campaign promises to get a better deal in brussels fall flat, and leaving without a deal is all that's left, there's no clear

way for mps to stop that happening. and with most mps opposed to leaving with no deal, another constitutional crisis may well be on the cards. so if clarity about brexit is what britain needs most, the painful end of yet another premiership mayjust have achieved nothing at all. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. so european leaders are now facing the prospect of a new prime minister with a new approach to the brexit process after years of complex negotiations and delays. the german chancellor, angela merkel, said her government will work to maintain strong ties with britain, whatever happens in the future. translation: of course, i respect this decision. i always worked well with the british prime minister theresa may. britain's departure from the european union is a major transition and regardless of what happens now, the german government

will do everything to achieve a good partnership, an early exit and good negotiations and i hope that will remain the case in the future. angela merkel speaking there. so how is the news of mrs may's departure going down elsewhere in europe? 0ur europe editor, katya adler sent this update from brussels. what does not change is eu leaders remain fed what does not change is eu leaders remainfed up what does not change is eu leaders remain fed up with the brexit process which they feel has been going on and on and the change of a prime minister threatens to lengthen the process even more. they think the process even more. they think the new prime minister will want to come here to brussels to try to renegotiate the brexit deal particularly the backstop on the irish border and they were quick to say they will not be budging. eu leaders feel they have gone around that block so many times in the past two years and pointed out that theresa may and her cabinet signed off on the brexit deal back in november but the concern here is

that a new, hard—line prime minister would use what some described as dirty tactics if they do not get their way, such as holding up eu business, vetoing the eu budget. another worry is that the next prime minister could trigger an ideal brexit something that the eu never believe theresa may was willing to do. however the successor deals with the eu, european leaders will need to offer an extension and the assumption is the prime minister will want more time to renegotiate and possibly hold a new general election. international leaders from beyond europe have also been reacting to news of mrs may's departure. this is what president trump had to say. i feel badly for theresa, i like her very much, she's a good woman who worked hard. she's very strong.

she decided to do something that some people were surprised at, some weren't. it's for the good of her country, but i like her very much and in fact i'll be seeing her in two weeks. the conservatives aren't the only party looking for a new leader, as the liberal democrats have also begun the process of choosing their next leader. the party's current leader, sir vince cable, announced in march that he would step down after the local elections, and in a statement today, he confirmed he would be handing over the reins to his successor on 23july. sir vince took over as leader injuly, 2017 after his predecessor tim farron stepped down. more on the political future of the uk in a moment, but let's take a brief look at some of today's other news. two teenage boys have died after what police described as a serious incident in a house in sheffield. four other children aged between seven months and eleven are being treated in hospital.

a man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of murder. ten members of staff at a specialist hospital in county durham have been arrested following a bbc panorama investigation into the alleged mistreatment of vulnerable people. police say they're investigating claims that patients with learning disabilities and autism were physically and psychologically abused at whorlton hall, a privately run unit, funded by the nhs. an anti—terrorist investigation has been launched in the french city of lyon, after a device exploded in a busy shopping street, injuring eight people. witnesses say the bomb contained nails. police are searching for a suspect in his thirties. president trump says the us is sending 1,500 more troops to the middle east in what he called a protective measure. they'lljoin an american aircraft carrier group already patrolling the arabian sea.

it comes at a time of growing tension between america and iran. the number of homeless individuals and families in england living in bed and breakfast accommodation increased by more than 20% last year. official figures published today showed that almost 7,000 households were being accommodated in this way, a third of which were families with children. it's nearly three years since theresa may walked into downing street for the first time as prime minister. at the time, conservative mps praised her competence as a minister and her leadership skills, after six years in charge of the home office. but an ill—judged move to call a general election in 2017 and persistent claims that she was unable to listen to the views of others led to the unravelling of her leadership. in the process mrs may became yet another conservative leader whose career in office was ultimately destroyed by the party's divisions on europe.

0ur chief political correspondent vicki young reports. 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 she became 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 all 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 brasier, as she then was, was mainly state educated in 0xfordshire before studying geography at oxford university. in her third year,

she met herfuture 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. as party chairman, she made the case for conservative modernisation, telling her party some hard truths during their years in opposition. 0ur base is too narrow and so occasionally are our sympathies. you know what some people call us? the " nasty pa rty". under david cameron, she became the longest serving home secretary of modern times but, as prime minister, she faced an even tougher challenge, trying to steer the uk and her party through brexit. this most cautious of politicians became one of westminster‘s biggest risk takers. 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.

the gamble backfired. she lost the conservatives their majority, only hanging on to power through a deal with the dup. her political misjudgments left her weakened, and reasserting her authority didn't 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. she coughs. 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 wasn't 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 the first of three defeats in the commons, and mrs may was forced to ask the european union for a delay to brexit. nigel farage's new brexit party

surged in popularity and her colleagues finally moved against her. theresa may never wanted brexit to define her time in office, but it was the backdrop to everything her government did. she was praised for her tenacity and sense of duty, but critics said she lacked vision and regarded brexit as a damage limitation exercise. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers we are moving into a spell of u nsettled we are moving into a spell of unsettled weather which is great for the garden but for some people it means a spoiled bank holiday weekend. western areas in particular will find rain weekend. western areas in particular willfind rain and weekend. western areas in particular will find rain and for all of us temperatures will drop. 0n will find rain and for all of us temperatures will drop. on friday a few showers around but it is this to bands of thicker cloud bringing most of the rain. the cloud beginning by the morning across northern ireland.

some damp, grizzly weather over here. going into scotland and the north of england. sunny spells for most of the days, especially in the south—east where it will be warmest. underneath the cloud of rain, quite a bit chillier. the first weather front bringing the rain on saturday and an area of low pressure approaching overnight and into sunday pushing the next lot of rain through. it could be wet on sunday across scotland. continuing in northern scotland. should move away from southern scotland. sunshine for northern ireland. and the band of rain through the south east end of the afternoon. cooler and fresher and following behind with a north—westerly breeze. the weather front north—westerly breeze. the weather fro nt m oves north—westerly breeze. the weather front moves out of the way but we are not finished with the rain because on monday, we have lower pressure and this is where we