Rishi Sunak has apologised after leading the Conservatives to their worst ever election result as a Labour landslide swept Sir Keir Starmer to No 10. The outgoing prime minister said he would quit as Tory leader once arrangements are in place to choose his successor, potentially triggering another round of Conservative infighting as MPs scramble to replace him. In a statement outside No 10, Mr Sunak said: “I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as prime minister. H Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as Prime
00:04Minister. To the country I would like to say first and foremost I am sorry. I have
00:12given this job my all but you have sent a clear signal that the government of
00:17the United Kingdom must change and yours is the only judgment that matters. I have
00:24heard your anger, your disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss. To
00:31all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who work tirelessly but
00:35without success I'm sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved.
00:41It pains me to think how many good colleagues who contributed so much to
00:46their communities and our country will now no longer sit in the House of
00:50Commons. I thank them for their hard work and their service. Following this
00:57result I will step down as party leader not immediately but once the formal
01:03arrangements for selecting my successor are in place. It is important that after
01:0814 years in government the Conservative Party rebuilds but also that it takes up
01:13its crucial role in opposition professionally and effectively.
01:18Keir Starmer will shortly become our Prime Minister. In this job his successors will be all our
01:25successors and I wish him and his family well. Whatever our disagreements in this
01:31campaign he is a decent public spirited man who I respect. He and his family
01:37deserve the very best of our understanding as they make the huge
01:41transition to their new lives behind this door and as he grapples with this
01:47most demanding of jobs in an increasingly unstable world.