Liz Truss has announced that she is resigning as Prime Minister, triggering a fresh Tory leadership contest which will be concluded "within the next week".

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, she said she had come to realise that she "cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party".

She said: "I have therefore spoken to His Majesty The King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.

"This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady. We have agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.

"This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our countries economic stability and national security. I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen."

Source: Various Agencies