Theresa May sets date to leave Downing Street 7 June

LONDON, 24 May. - (ANA)  - The British Prime Minister Theresa May's turbulent leadership of the Conservative Party will end on June 7, paving the way for a new prime minister to lead the Brexit process.

A tearful Prime Minister said she had "done my best" to get her Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament and take the UK out of the European Union but acknowledged she had failed.

"It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit," she said in Downing Street.

Watched by husband Philip and her closest aides, an emotional Mrs May said it was in the "best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort".

Announcing her departure from a job she loved, Mrs May said: "I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday 7th June so that a successor can be chosen."

Concluding her resignation statement, Mrs May broke down as she said it had been "the honour of my life" to serve "the country that I love".

Earlier, in a sign that the leadership race to replace Mrs May is already under way, Helen Grant quit as Conservative vice chair for communities to "actively and openly" support Dominic Raab.

She quit her Tory party role to avoid any "perception of a conflict" between Mr Raab's campaign and Conservative HQ".

Ms Grant said the former Brexit secretary "has an inspiring vision for a fairer Britain and I think he is undoubtedly the best person to unite the Conservative Party and our country".

Theresa May's legacy will be defined by Brexit chaos:

Theresa May's legacy as Prime Minister will be defined by her fateful decision to call a snap election – and the Brexit chaos that followed.

She arrived in Downing Street on July 13 2016 faced with the task of bringing together party and country after the traumas of the EU referendum.

She will be leaving with her party fractured and the country still divided over Europe.

Her premiership has been dominated by tortuous negotiations in Brussels and vicious infighting within Tory ranks over the terms on which the UK would leave.

Mrs May, 62, marked her arrival with an impassioned promise on the steps of Number 10 to tackle the "burning injustices" which hold back the poor, ethnic minorities, women and the working classes in modern British society.  - (ANA) -

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