Tony Blair, speaking from his Sedgefield constituency, has confirmed that he is standing down as Prime Minister, after ten years in the job.
Blair, who swept to power in the landslide election of 1 May 1997, will formally leave Number 10 Downing Street on June 27.
"Today I announce my decision to stand down from the leadership of the Labour Party," Blair said.
"The party will now select a new leader. On the 27th of June I will tender my resignation from the post of prime minister to the Queen."
"I have been prime minister of this country for just over 10 years," he added. "In this job for me, and most importantly the country, I think that is enough."
Blair's announcement, and the upcoming announcement of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, will mean the start of a seven-week contest to choose their replacements as Labour leader and deputy leader.
There have been many critics of the fact that Gordon Brown is likely to become Prime Minister uncontested, with many saying there should be a genuine leadership competition.
However, David Miliband and John Reid have now ruled themselves out of any such contest. Left-wingers Michael Meacher and John McDonnell have both expressed a desire to stand, but it remains to be seen if they will receive the necessary amount of nominations from fellow MPs.
SNP leader Alex Salmond was typically scathing:
“Tony Blair’s legacy can be summed up in one word – Iraq. His undoubted achievements in office – notably the Northern Ireland peace process and positive measures such as the minimum wage – will be overshadowed by his fateful decision to take the country into an illegal and unnecessary war on a false pretence.”
Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce was also less than favourable. “Tony Blair missed the opportunity to be a reforming Prime Minister and change Britain for the better. He leaves a legacy of a misjudged war and cash for peerages.”
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