Sir Keir Starmer: “I have a duty to stay on as prime minister as I sought to justify my decisions on defence spending.”

I want to thank once again my family, Vic and our children, my team, all the staff here and across the Labour Party, everyone at Number 10 and across the civil service, and everyone who has supported our efforts along the way.

I’m proud to hand over the party in good shape to Andy Burnham, and hand over the country in good shape to Andy Burnham.

For all the focus on individuals, politics will always be a team sport, and the changes we’ve delivered for our country and our party belong to everyone who has fought for them.

Since then, it has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as prime minister, and I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.