David Cameron pays tribute to the armed forces as he leaves Downing Street for the final time
In his final address as Prime Minister, David Cameron has paid tribute to the work of Britain's armed forces and volunteers as he reflected on the achievements of his government, before heading to Buckingham Palace to formally tender his resignation.
Cameron will be replaced as Prime Minister by Theresa May later today.
“The spirit of service in this country is one of its most remarkable qualities.
"I have seen that service day in and day out in the incredible work of our armed forces, our intelligence agencies and our police. It is something I always knew. But as Prime Minister you see it so directly that it blows you away.
"And of course writing those heart-breaking letters to the families who have lost loved ones is a poignant reminder of the profound scale of what these men and women give for us in the defence of our freedoms and our way of life. We must never forget that.
"In a different way, I have seen that same spirit of service in the amazing contributions of countless volunteers in communities up and down our country who are making our society bigger and stronger," he said.
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Cameron described his six year reign as Prime Minister as "the greatest honour of my life", and also took the chance to cite policies including the national living wage, the creation of new free schools, improvements in the NHS and the legalisation of gay marriage as key achievements of his six year tenure.
“When I first stood here in Downing Street in that evening in May 2010 I said we would confront our problems as a country and lead people through difficult divisions so that together we could reach better times,” Cameron said.
“It has not been an easy journey, and of course we've not got every decision right, but I do believe that today, our country is much stronger.”
Cameron, who will sit as a backbench MP, reiterated his support for May and expressed “delight” that his successor would be a woman.
“Theresa May will provide strong and stable leadership in fulfilling the Conservative manifesto on which we were elected,” he said.