Theresa May to be Prime Minister after Andrea Leadsom drops out of Tory leadership race

Theresa May is set to become Britain's next Prime Minister after her internal party Andrea Leadsom dropped out of the Conservative leadership race.

Ms May will likely be elected unopposed to the Conservative party leadership, subject to her formal confirmation by the Conservative party board and chairman of the Tory 1922 committee.

After her appointment she will almost certainly be appointed Prime Minister by Tory MPs, who have a majority in the House of Commons.

Ms May had been the favourite in the Tory leadership contest, which was originally due to conclude in early September.

The Conservative leadership contest was trigged by David Cameron announcing his resignation in the wake of the European Union referendum result.