Liz Truss: Prime minister announces resignation

The UK's prime minister, Liz Truss, has announced she is stepping down after just 45 days in office.

Ms Truss had only been in the job since 6 September but she has been faced with a series of events and decisions over the last few weeks, which have raised questions about her leadership.

In the end she lost the support of too many people in her party and decided she had to resign.

She is the PM with the shortest time in charge in UK history and said that her replacement would be elected by the Conservative Party over the next week.

What did Liz Truss say?

Liz Truss faced MPs in the House of Commons yesterday

In a short speech outside Downing Street, Ms Truss said she recognised that she couldn't fulfil the promises on which she was elected by the Conservative Party.

The prime minister added that she entered "office at a time of great economic and international instability" and said that her government had delivered on some policies including providing support for energy bills.

Ms Truss said she would remain in post until a successor formally takes over as party leader and is appointed prime minister by King Charles III.

Why has she stood down?

Liz Truss has had a really difficult time as prime minister and will be the shortest-serving PM in British history when she stands down.

Since announcing her mini-budget last month, she received very negative reaction to her plans to take the UK in a new direction - including from Members of Parliament on her own team.

After that she had to admit to mistakes, change direction, sack her friend and colleague Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor of the Exchequer and then saw her original plans scrapped almost entirely by his replacement Jeremy Hunt.

On Wednesday this week, Home Secretary Suella Braverman became the second senior minister to resign from her top team, while MPs were very angry over a lot of confusion during a vote on Wednesday evening.

Although Ms Braverman didn't say that she was resigning because of the prime minister, she did take a swipe at Ms Truss, saying she had "concerns about the direction of this government".

What has the reaction been so far?

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for an immediate general election

Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, along with the leaders of other opposition parties, have called for an immediate general election following Ms Truss's resignation speech.

Mr Starmer the British people deserved better than what he called a "revolving door of chaos".

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called the situation an "utter shambles", with ordinary people paying the price.

The Welsh First Minister, Mark Drakeford, said that a general election was "the only way forward".

What happens next?

Liz Truss was appointed UK prime minister and Conservative Party leader last month

Ms Truss said that a new Prime Minister will be elected in a leadership contest, which will take place within the next week.

She added that she will stay as Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader until the result of that contest is announced and a new leader is elected.

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee of MPs which will organise that vote, says it will be possible to have a new person in charge by Friday 28 October.