UK Prime Minister’s job: I can’t cope, Liz Truss confesses, throws in towel

Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned as UK prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party in a statement outside Downing Street.

She said she was doing so because she could not deliver the mandate on which she was elected as Tory leader.

It kickstarts a contest to find the next Tory leader and PM; Jeremy Hunt rules himself out but Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt are all seen as contenders.

A shorter contest should produce a result by next Friday, says 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady.

He says members will have a say unless MPs unite around one candidate.

Truss’s departure after 45 days in office makes her the shortest-serving PM in UK history.

Her premiership has been in turmoil since her mini-budget last month, which rocked markets and was later scrapped by her new chancellor.

The resignation of her home secretary on Wednesday and a chaotic vote in the Commons sealed her fate.