11/07/2016 BBC News at Six

In just two days' time, she'll be moving in to Number 10

The sudden development took Mrs May by surprise.

She rushed back to London to make a statement

I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen

by the Conservative Party to become its leader.

Earlier this morning, her rival Andrea Leadsom fell

on her sword and quit after a bruising weekend

The interests of our country are best served by the immediate

appointment of a strong and well supported Prime Minister.

Now deprived of a leadership contest, what do the Tory party

Some members of the party will feel a bit cheated,

and will feel that Andrea has thrown the towel in too early.

Meanwhile, one party that will be having a leadership contest

is Labour, after Angela Eagle formally launches her bid

Jordan Spieth has pulled out of the Olympics beacuse of fears

The top four players in the world have all withdrawn from Rio.

If you were thinking Westminster politics couldn't get any more

We now know that the next Prime Minister will be Theresa May,

after her rival for the Tory party leadership, Andrea Leadsom,

And as for David Cameron staying as PM until September - not any more.

Theresa May will be moving into Number 10

In the last half-hour, Mrs May said she was honoured

Our political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, has been

following today's fast-moving developments.

Our new Prime Minister and the Torys' new leader. I am honoured and

humbled to have been chosen by the Conservative Party to become its

leader. I would like to pay tribute to the other candidates during the

election campaign, and I would like to pay tribute to Andrea Leadsom for

the dignity she is shown today. After the anger and arguments of the

referendum campaign and its brutal aftermath, even to make her party

work would be quite a feat. Frexit means Brexit, and we are going to

make a success of it. Dub-dash Brexit. We need to unite our

country, and we need a strong new positive vision for the future of

our country, the vision of a country that works not for the privileged

few, but for everyone of us, because we are going to give people more

control over their lives. That's how, together, we will build a

better Britain. You. Theresa May is in because she walked out. Just

before 11 this morning the rumour mill began to well, was Andrea

Leadsom, the eurosceptics' darling, about to quit? The grim faces of her

supporters confirmed it. For me to have won the support of 84 of my

colleagues on Thursday was a great expression of confidence for which I

am incredibly grateful. Nevertheless, this is less and 25%

of the Parliamentary party, and after careful consideration, I do

not believe this is sufficient support to lead a strong and stable

government, should I win the leadership election. I have,

however, concluded that the interests of our country are best

served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well supported Prime

Minister. I am therefore withdrawing from the leadership election, and I

wish Theresa May the very greatest success. Why have you changed your

mind? There was disbelief in one of Westminster's impossibly immaculate

side streets. Some of her supporters are furious. About what they called

the abuse that was thrown at her, especially after she suggested in an

interview that she would be a good Prime Minister partly because she

has children and Theresa May does not. One of her team told me simply,

the abuse was too much. With 199 MPs supporting Theresa May, we think it

is in the best interests of the country to say should withdraw. Has

she been bullied out of it? I wouldn't put it in those terms. We

face very sophisticated opponents in this contest. They carefully

positioned her as something she is not, and if we were to continue, the

damage would be too great. The level of personal abuse that has been

directed at her is something I have been rather appalled about. Even if

Mrs May was the overwhelming favourite, we should have had a

contest, so I am disappointed. I'm sure Andrea has made this decision

for very good reasons, and I'm sure there's a lot of pressure, but I

can't deny that I am disappointed. It is 12:20pm now. Andrea Leadsom's

surprise decision to move out of the leadership rests -- race means that

in the next few days, the next Prime Minister could be in Number 10. Now

over to the party machine to decide what happens to the government next.

They didn't waste any time. Following the decision of Mrs Andrea

Leadsom to withdraw from the Conservative Party leadership

contest, Theresa May is the only leadership candidate. Could she be

the Prime Minister by the end of this week? Buries a constitutional

process to gone through. In the space of less than half an hour,

Andrea Leadsom has quit the race, and the Tory party have confirmed

Theresa May will be the next Prime Minister. Are you looking at the

face of Theresa May's next Cabinet's Tory MPs who have given overwhelming

support, and were ready for a long campaign to Number 10. But they will

not need it now. He will not stay any longer than is polite to leave

Downing Street. We do not need a long period of transition, so

tomorrow I will chair my last Cabinet meeting. On Wednesday I will

attend the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Questions, and

after that, I will go to the palace and offer my resignation. So we will

have a new Prime Minister in that building behind me by Wednesday

evening. Toulouse office must be painful, but perhaps with it, some

might relief. A cheer from the Prime Minister. We will not call him that

for long. Theresa May is one of Britain's

longest-serving Home Secretaries - a keen advocate of modernising

the Conservatives and shedding its image as the

so-called "nasty party". She has also faced criticism

for failing to meet promises Our Deputy Political Editor,

John Pienaar, looks at Mrs May's route to the top job -

and what kind of Just moments before she knew the job

was hers, Theresa May opened up a little. She doesn't do showing,

thinks Britain has had enough surprises, but her mission is a big

one. A society that works for everyone, so we bring people back

together, North and south, urban and rural, young and old, male and

female, black and white, sick and healthy, those with skills and those

without. Reaching well beyond the Tory tribe. It was a pitch to be a

one nation Prime Minister, uniting a divided country. Curbs on corporate

pay and more homes built. We need to unite our party and our country. We

need a bold new vision for the future of our country, one that

works not for the privileged few, but for everyone of us. She wanted

to stay in the EU, yes, but that was then. She looked control EU

migration and get the best deal for Britain. Brexit means Brexit, and we

will make a success of it. Theresa May's story is unremarkable.

Middle-class, Grammar School and Oxford, where she met her husband,

who was at her side today. Home is home, work is separate. She's

private, and likes it like that. But since her time working in the city,

since the start of her political career, she relied on herself, and

never saw her gender as an obstacle to rising higher. I have never

experienced any barriers in the Conservative Party. Is she a

feminist? That is a woman who asks gets no favours, according her. Many

Tories hated it when she told them, in opposition, that many hated them.

Our base is too narrow. Many call us the nasty party. A police conference

might have even less when she told them they had to change, when she

was Home Secretary. Theresa May never liked David Cameron's pledge

to get immigration below 100,000. Some colleagues thought she was too

tough and pushed too hard to get numbers down when colleges and

businesses wanted more. But they are all acting her now, including a

former rival watching from across the Atlantic. She has the integrity,

strength and leadership that our country needs. In Britain and around

the world, the British economy need certainty. It is in everyone's

interests that she takes up the position of Prime Minister in the

coming days. We'll Theresa May own a mention among Britain's's most

notable leaders? Who knows. But she is coming to power in the most

testing time since the Second World War. Tonight, the party will rally

round, and she will enjoy something of a political honeymoon. But over

the coming months and years, the harsh realities of government can

only compare harshly to the dreams of leadership that she nursed with

her future husband at her side as a young woman.

Our Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg, is here now.

Now that we know that Theresa May is going to be moving in here on

Wednesday, she will have lots of key decisions to made.

This lightning turn of events seems to have taken most

There are big days ahead, but events today have gone 1 million miles an

hour. We have had to run from one event to another. That is in

contrast to Theresa May's style. She is a steady, careful politician.

Officials say she likes to read every document and look at every

detail herself before deciding anything. I think we will see a very

different style of leadership here under her. She's not flash. She

doesn't try to be votess' friends. She doesn't try to comment on

anything or be on the television every single night. She is somebody

who wants to emphasise, almost every time she appears in public, that her

priority is getting on with the job. When that job is being the Prime

Minister, that is a very tall order. It's one thing to say that she likes

to keep her head down when you are Home Secretary, but quite another to

do that when you are in charge at Number 10. She is taking over at a

time when the Tory party is split from top to bottom over Europe.

Those who campaigned to leave, they were tricky under David Cameron, but

they may prove far trickier under Theresa May. This morning, we

thought it would be a couple of months before we knew who would run

the country. In events that have surprised everybody today, we now

know, and we have days until she walks through the door door. Thank

you. The decision on who should lead

the Conservatives was to be decided by the party's 150,000

members this summer. But the withdrawal of Mrs Leadsom

from the race means they will no longer have a say in who should

be their future leader. Our correspondent Danny Savage

reports from Harrogate. England's largest county,

and overwhelmingly Conservative. With only one hat left in the ring

for Tory leader, voters here are surprised, but fairly

positive about today's events. Do you think she can

unite the party? She is a very experienced

lady in government. And you are a Conservative

supporter. But you're happy

with that? I'm happy with that,

yes. I just don't know, it's something

to do with the lady, I think she will be

fine as Prime Minister. I know she said she's

going to operate the Brexit ASAP. I think it is going to be incredibly

difficult for somebody who believed I'm not quite sure how

it is all going to work. But what about the next level up

in party politics? These three would have had a vote

in the leadership ballot. Do you think Conservative members

will be disappointed that they don't have a chance to vote

on the next leader? I think some members of the party

will feel a bit cheated. And will feel that Andrea has thrown

the towel in too early, really. I would have voted

for Theresa anyway. I think the news that Andrea has

pulled out today means that we can install Theresa as our leader

and Prime Minister in a much I think that is very

good for the country. I also think it is important

that we start to put The voters have decided we're

going to go out, and therefore And getting on with it is a message

we repeatedly heard today. A broad welcome from the broad acres

of certainty at the top As you've been hearing,

Theresa May will be the next prime minister after her rival

Andrea Leadsom unexpectedly quit And still to come, we've

been to Gosport that voted to leave the EU -

what do people there make of having a prime minister

who campaigned to stay in? A day after winning Wimbledon,

Andy Murray says he is very unlikely The quarterfinal against

Serbia starts on Friday. Well one party that will be having

a leadership contest now is Labour. The ex shadow business secretary

Angela Eagle has formally launched her attempt

to oust Jeremy Corbyn. She told supporters these were 'dark

times for Labour' and she couldn't stand back while Britain became

a one party Tory state. Mr Corbyn has said he'll

fight any challenge. Here's our Political

Correspondent Ben Wright. Dug in and fighting on. Are you

prepared for a leadership challenge? Labour MPs have pleaded with Jeremy

Corbyn to go but persuasion has failed and a leadership challenge is

on. This is the Labour MP leading the charge. I have lodged my papers

with the general secretary today to launch this challenge. Angela Eagle

had threatened to charge for days but with the country in political

turmoil she said that Labour could not put up with weak leadership any

longer. We know to be leader of the Labour Party you have got to lead in

Parliament as well and we have seen Jeremy not do that job. He has been

hiding behind a door, not talking to his Members of Parliament. That is

not leadership. She has the support of many parties towards, longing for

a change of leadership but Angela Eagle promised to be a break from

the past. I'm not a Blairite, a Brownite or Corbin style politician.

I am my own woman. The former Shadow Business Secretary has been a Labour

MP since 1992 and has a twin sister, Maria, also a Member of Parliament.

It is not clear whether Jeremy Corbyn will be able to stand in the

coming contest. The Labour ruling body will decide tomorrow if he

needs nominations from MPs and MEPs to get on the ballot or if he has an

automatic right. And powerful trade union figures are standing firm

beside Jeremy Corbyn, today Len McCluskey denounced what he called a

political lynching. This was a despicable and cowardly act, a

Westminster coup, perpetrated on a decent man, a kind man, a man who

has a complete mandate, a massive mandate from the membership of the

party. Jeremy Corbyn has lost the confidence of most Labour MPs, they

think he is an electoral disaster and they want him gone. But Jeremy

Corbyn is banking on the backing of Labour Party members and paid up

supporters to elect him again. It is that split that has thrown the party

into crisis. Labour membership numbers continue to grow with some

websites trying to sign up people who want to test out Jeremy Corbyn

and others trying to shore up his support on the left. Labour, their

ongoing agonies are stark contrast to the Conservatives doodle bugs

with replacement of a leader. The contest both now imminent.

Now for some of the day's other stories.

Two Turkish men have been found guilty of smuggling cocaine -

with an estimated street value of half a billion pounds -

The vessel was intercepted last year by the Royal Navy

and the Border Force following an international operation.

Cutting equipment was used to get access to the hidden stash of drugs

The RMT Union has accused the train operator Southern Rail of living

in an "insane parallel universe" after it cancelled hundreds

of services a day, in response to months of disruption

The company says the new timetable will provide certainty

It has blamed action by RMT members and high levels of staff sickness

for cancellations on services from the south coast to London.

The parents of a man who died when his car was hit by a speeding

driver today put the wreckage on display outside Parliament.

It was part of their campaign for tougher sentences for those

who cause fatal crashes in dangerous circumstances.

Joseph Brown-Lartey died when his car was struck by a vehicle

travelling at more than 80 miles an hour.

That driver - Addil Haroon - was jailed for six years,

Back to our main story and the news that Theresa May will be Prime

She of course campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU

during the referendum, but stressed today that she accepts

the result and that "Brexit means Brexit".

But how do some of the millions of people who voted

for Britain to leave the EU feel about having a new Prime Minister

Our correspondent Duncan Kennedy reports from Gosport in Hampshire,

Once home to Britain's submarine service, Gosport can often feel

submerged by its larger neighbour, Portsmouth.

But in the EU referendum, it stood out as one of the most

So what do Leave voters here think of Theresa May,

Do you think it is a betrayal of the way the country voted?

I mean, the country spoke and everyone went well,

Yes, I think we're being stabbed in back.

And on Gosport high street many Leave voters shared that angry

You would have preferred a Leave Prime Minister?

Because then I know that we would have left.

Because we voted out, which means we want to get out

How disappointed are you that Britain has got

When people like you and the country voted to leave?

Slip into this reptile shop, and here too there were not many

The majority seemed to want to get out.

But I do not really think the government

But in Poppins cafe, we did find Leave voters who trust

Do you think Britain should have gone with a pro-Leave

Prime Ministser in wake of the referendum vote?

I think that would have been probably correct to do so,

but now we have got this lady, we have got to try and support her.

Theresa May may have some support among the Leavers,

but on one afternoon in one town, there's of evidence our

new Prime Minister has a job to do convincing winners of the referendum

Duncan Kennedy, BBC News, in Gosport.

In a moment I'll be speaking to Laura Kuenssberg.

But first our Europe Editor Katya Adler is in Brussels.

How has the news gone down in Europe that they will be dealing

with Theresa May when it comes to the Brexit negotiations?

First of all a big sigh of relief here in Brussels that things now

appear to be moving forward in the UK. Uncertainty is bad for an

already weak EU and its wobbly currency. The feeling here is if the

UK is going to exit the EU it should get on with the formal process of

leaving. Here in Brussels, in Germany and France, leaders were

reluctant to be drawn into detail about Theresa May until she actually

becomes the British Prime Minister. Privately they say they feel that

she is a known quantity, as British Home Secretary she was often in

Brussels meeting with European counterparts. One high-level source

described her as a hard negotiator and an Italian newspaper likened her

to the tough German Chancellor Angela Merkel and said that she is

cold and competent and determined. Not the kind of person said another

source, who is likely to bow to considerable EU pressure to start

formal time negotiations with the EU about the UK leaving as soon as

possible. She will instead want to inform readers found out her

European counterparts beforehand to see what kind of deal the UK can

expect outside the EU. European Commission doesn't like the idea but

there's not much it do about it. Let's talk about the process between

now and Wednesday. When of course the removal vans arrived.

And given that Mrs May will be an unelected leader,

what are the chances of a general election?

That is a good question. David Cameron will have his last cabinet

tomorrow so Theresa May will come up this street for the last time as

Home Secretary. He and his cabinet colleagues will have the final

meeting, you can only imagine whether anything will get done. Then

on Wednesday he goes again to the dispatch box for Prime Minister's

Questions for the last time and straight after that offer up the

road to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation formally to the

Queen and after that Theresa May makes the same journey to go and

accept the job. Sober looking at late Wednesday afternoon, Theresa

May will walk into Downing Street for the first time officially as

Prime Minister. In terms of the question of a general election,

Theresa May was firm when she launched her campaign are given the

Conservatives were elected just over a year ago, she believes there does

not have to be an election for her to take over as Prime Minister. But

already both the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have basically

said that is not democratic. We as the general public have not voted

for her and without a contest even amongst Tory party members it may

be, I say it may be, but there is a growing demand for her to go to the

country. But that is not her intention was up and I think the

decision will be based on how smoothly things go. I think knowing

the character of Theresa May, she can avoid it and will want to

introduce a calm period of government while those tricky

negotiations get underway. Thank you. Downing Street is full of

reporters and it has been threatening to rain this afternoon.

Let's see what the weather has been doing across the rest of the

country. It has been sunny one minute and

pouring with rain the next. This shot was taken by one of our

Weather Watchers in Lincolnshire. For some of us we had torrential

downpours across the South East of England. Not far from the

Farnborough airshow which was badly disrupted. Many other places

enjoying a fine and to the day. The showers tend to ease away with time

but then we have another clutch pushing into Wales later on. Most of

us end the night dry and fresh as well. If you are in rural areas,

down to single figures. So some sunshine first thing in the morning,

showers already across parts of Wales tracking further east. By and

large the further north and west you are in the country, the better

chance of staying dry. Plenty of sunshine in Northern Ireland and

parts of Scotland. Out of the breeze not feeling too bad. After a shower

restart across parts of Wales, things perk up as the focus of the

downpours tracks towards East Anglia and the South East. Some slow-moving

and heavy downpours, warnings could be issued by the time we reached

tomorrow. On Wednesday the showers drift away some more showers coming

in from the north and west. Another hit and miss date with some places

having heavy showers and others staying dry. But again not all that

warm. Mid to high teens. And overnight this week it turns cold in

rural areas, down into single figures. But in the sunshine not

feeling too bad and Thursday looking like a decent day for most. The wind

fairly light and some good stuff of sunshine. How long that lasts is

another matter. Here in Downing Street as has been

an incredibly fast moving day with news that Theresa May will be the

new Prime Minister, she will be moving in here on Wednesday when

David Cameron will resign. With the last hour Theresa May said should

she was honoured and humbled to have been chosen.

That's all from the BBC News at Six - so it's goodbye