Image source, PA Media

Keir Starmer says he will step down as Labour leader and prime minister after accepting that his party does not believe he is best placed the lead the country into the next general election.

Here are the key points from his resignation speech:

• Starmer described becoming prime minister was the "proudest moment" of his life

• He said he inherited a Labour Party that was "politically, financially and morally bankrupt", which he was told "time and time again" was "finished"

• His party is asking whether he is best placed to lead it into the next election, said Starmer, adding that he had "heard the answer" and "accepts that answer with good grace"

• Starmer announced he had already spoken the the King and in said if there is a contest to succeed him, a new Labour leader will be in place before parliament returns in September
• The PM added that will do everything he can to ensure an orderly handover of power, and will give his successor his full support
• Getting emotional toward the end of his speech, Starmer said he would now be the best husband and dad to his "fantastic wife" and "beautiful children" - before embracing his wife and returning to No 10

Daniela Relph
Senior royal correspondent

The prime minister spoke to the King this morning to tell him he was resigning.

They spoke over the phone.

The King was at Highgrove - his estate in Gloucestershire.

Starmer says after leaving the "biggest job in the country" he will spend more time on "the most important job".

"Being the best husband I can, to my fantastic wife Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad," he says, fighting back the emotion of the moment.

"And being the best dad that I can to my beautiful children, who are my pride and joy," he concludes.

He hugs his wife before heading back inside No 10.

Image source, Reuters

Keir Starmer says he will do everything he can to ensure an orderly handover of power, and will give his successor his full support.

They know, he continues, that they are inheriting a Britain that is stronger and fairer than two years ago.

Starmer then thanks his friends and colleagues who have been by his side for six years, as well as the No 10 staff and the "extraordinary civil service".

Image source, PA Media

Starmer says he spoke to the King this morning to inform him of his decision to resign.

He has asked the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to set out a timetable with nominations opening for the leadership on 9 July, and completed by the summer recess.

This will mean a new leader is in place before parliament returns in September.

Until then he will remain in post as prime minister, he says.

Starmer says the question his party is asking is whether he is best placed to lead it into the next general election.

He says he has "heard the answer" of his party to that question and "accepts that answer with good grace".

Every decision he says he has taken has been about "putting the country I love first".

"I will resign as leader of the Labour Party," he says.

Image source, PA Media

Before he announced his resignation, Starmer said he inherited Labour Party that was "politically, financially and morally bankrupt".

He says he was told "time and time again" that the party was "finished", but says he "proved those people wrong".

He says he changed the party by "ripping out the poison of antisemitism".

"Restoring trust on the economy, defence and national security," he adds.

Keir Starmer has announced he will resign as prime minister and leader of the Labour Party.

Keir Starmer exits No 10 with his wife to cheers and applause.

Walking up Downing Street two years ago was the proudest moment of my life, he says.

He says he came into politics for the chance to change the lives of millions of people for the better.

Starmer then outlines the journey that saw Labour take power in July 2024.

Image source, Reuters

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The prime minister is setting out the ways in which he changed the Labour Party.

There is no doubt the victory he oversaw at the general election was a massive achievement.

That’s why it’s so remarkable that two years on, the PM is on the way out.

Keir Starmer has stepped out to make a statement on Downing Street.

You can watch what he says live at the top of this page.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

A number of cabinet ministers - including the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy - are outside Number 11 Downing Street to watch Keir Starmer’s statement.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

The prime minister’s top team have come out into Downing Street. The lectern is out.

Starmer's announcement is imminent.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Mason
Political editor

The lectern is out. The moment is imminent. Perhaps inside ten minutes, one source tells me.

Staff are gathering to watch — for many a sad moment personally as well as politically, losing their jobs as the prime minister loses his.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent on Downing Street

Again, we don't have confirmation of this, but I think pretty well the only reason the prime minister would be making a statement in Downing Street this morning is because he's resigning.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Downing Street staff have just brought speakers out into the street. The preparations for a prime ministerial statement are beginning.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

We are still waiting for confirmation (or otherwise) of whether the prime minister will resign today. That’s the overwhelming expectation in Westminster.

The No 10 team remains very quiet this morning.

It’s worth remembering though; if Keir Starmer doesn’t confirm his departure soon, there are plenty of Labour MPs prepared to try and force it.

Image source, House of Commons

Labour MP and Andy Burnham supporter, Anna Dixon, says she wants Starmer to step down without a leadership contest being triggered.

"I think it's clear now that the PM recognises it's time to go, I think he's seen the writing on the wall," she tells Radio 4's Today programme.

She says she hopes Starmer will set out timetable for transition "whether that's in weeks or months", in order to "preserve stability for the country".

Dixon says its important for the country to have a "smooth handover", but says it does not need to see leadership hopefuls "pull each other apart" in debates.

Asked if that means she wants to see Burnham given the job without a contest, Dixon says Burnham has "already shown he's a very successful politician for some 25 years".

"He's sat round the cabinet table previously... he's run a major city as mayor for nine years, so I think he has been tested."

If Keir Starmer announces his resignation today, his biographer suggests the PM could quit politics altogether.

Journalist Tom Baldwin tells the BBC that no-one knows what decision Keir Starmer will make today, but emphasises he is a "very private, very intensely emotional man making one of the very biggest decisions of his life".

Baldwin suggests Starmer feels "deeply frustrated" by the fact Labour's achievements might be clouded by the challenge to his leadership, adding: "I think he's hurt by some of the behaviour of people around him, some of the people he trusted, who he gave jobs to."

"If Keir Starmer does decide to leave - and I don't know what he's going to do - I don't think he's going to stick around in politics for long," he says.

"For him it's always been something he needs to endure rather than do out of love."

Image source, EPA

Andy Burnham is due in Westminster to be sworn in as Makerfield’s new MP later today, following his victory in last week's by-election.

Douglas Lumsden, the new Conservative MP for Aberdeen South, and Lara Bird, who was elected as the SNP’s new MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry - both of whom were also elected in separate by-elections last week - are also expected at the House of Commons .