Theresa May breaks down as she announces she will resign on Friday June 7

Theresa May has announced she will step down from her role as Prime Minister on June 7.

The Prime Minister made a statement outside 10 Downing Street this morning confirming that the process to find her replacement should begin in the next week.

Mrs May said: “It is now clear to me it is in the best interests of the country to have a new Prime Minister.”

She will remain in post when Donald Trump visits the UK on June 3. 

The leader added: "I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back [my] deal. Sadly I have not been able to do so."

At the end of her statement she broke down as she said: "With no ill will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love”. 

She also paid tribute to being the second female Prime Minister saying she 'certainly won't be the last.'

The resignation triggers a chaotic summer Tory leadership contest that could make a hard Brexiteer Prime Minister and pitch the UK towards a no-deal exit on October 31, MirrrorOnline reports.

Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement outside at 10 Downing Street in London, where she announced she is standing down (PA)

The PM is expected to take up a caretaker role while the contest to replace her takes place after her resignation date. 

Mrs May's hand was forced after a last-ditch attempt to convince MPs to back her Brexit plan - by promising a possible second referendum - prompted Tory bedlam.

It comes just hours after polls closed in yesterday's European Parliament elections - which May had hoped would never take place. 

Her Conservative party is expected to see a historic drubbing in the poll when results are announced on Sunday night. 

She has suffered a Brexit backlash and surge in support for both Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, along with a range of smaller Remain-backing parties.