'THIS SHIP NEEDS A NEW CAPTAIN'

David Cameron announces he will QUIT as Prime Minister after UK’s historic vote to leave the EU

DAVID Cameron has announced he is resigning as Prime Minister after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

The Tory leader said he would be leaving No10 after six years following the historic decision by the electorate to back Brexit in the referendum.

GETTY IMAGES

David Cameron announced he will be resigning as Prime Minister after the 

historic result to Leave the EU in yesterday’s referendum

He revealed in an emotional statement he wanted a new leader to be in place by this

 autumn’s Conservative conference

REUTERS

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A dejected Cameron made it clear he accepted the will of the people to leave the EU

He revealed in an emotional statement outside Downing Street he wanted a new 

leader to be in place by this autumn’s Conservative conference.

He said: "I do not think it would be right for me to be the captain that steers our 

country to its next destination."

Mr Cameron’s remarks came just minutes after the markets opened with carnage

 in the City of London.

More than £100 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 as the index fell more than 7%,

 while the pound also crashed 8% against the US dollar.

Flanked by wife Samantha, the PM said he had informed the Queen of his decision

 to remain in place for the short term.

"The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be

 respected," said Mr Cameron.

"The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered."

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After revealing he would not be staying on, and with his voice breaking he said:

 "I love this country and I feel honoured to have served it."

REUTERS

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The PM was flanked by his wife Samantha outside Downing Street as he made the

 statement on his future as this country's leader

SWNS

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With a narrow margin for the Leave campaign the result was called around 4.45am this morning

PA

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Nigel Farage has delivered a victory speech outside Parliament this morning after the biggest

 victory of his political career

His voice breaking, Mr Cameron said: "I love this country and I feel honoured to have 

served it and I will do everything I can in future to help this great country succeed."

And he said he thinks the new PM should decide when to trigger Article 50, which 

formally begins the EU renegotiation process, so he will not be doing it himself.

The announcement came after a historic decision this morning for a Brexit, with the

 electorate quitting the EU by 52% to 48%.

Mr Cameron said he accepted the outcome, which has left the country split in half.

While most of England and Wales chose to Leave the EU, voters in Scotland and 

London overwhelmingly backed Remain.

A massive popular uprising against the capital's elites was credited for the extraordinary

 result - which defied almost every expert prediction.

Huge swathes of the North, the East coast, the Midlands and rural areas across the south, 

all backed Out.

The final result saw 17,759,184 Brits vote to leave, while 16,580,508 backed remain.

The shock decision plunged the financial markets into unprecedented chaos, with the

 pound plummeting by almost 10% across the night - a 31 year low,

But a jubilant Ukip boss Nigel Farage declared: “Let June 23 go down in our history as 

our independence day.”

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Photographers train their cameras at Boris Johnson's front door after the UK voted for Brexit

REUTERS

Jenny Watson announced the final results for the EU referendum in Manchester this 

morning - with Leave on 51.9%

The odds have Boris Johnson as the favourite to be the next PM ahead of Theresa May and Michael 

Gove