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AFP
London
David Cameron chaired his final cabinet meeting on Tuesday after six years as Britain's prime minister, with incoming premier Theresa May preparing to form a new government to deliver Brexit.
May led tributes to Cameron at the meeting, which was described by ministers as 'emotional', and posed for photographers on the steps of the premier's 10 Downing Street residence afterwards.
Cameron's end came sooner than expected after dramatic twists in the contest to replace him led to his swift exit from power less than three weeks after the nation's seismic vote to quit the European Union.
May will come under immediate pressure from EU leaders to set out a timetable for Brexit.
The European Commission's economy chief Pierre Moscovici urged May to accelerate the process.
"That's what I think a lot of people expect and hope and call for," he said in Brussels, adding that further delays would prolong damaging uncertainty for the economy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said late Monday:"The United Kingdom will need to quickly clarify how it wants its ties with the European Union to be in future."
Cameron announced he would step down after leading the failed campaign for Britain to remain in the EU in the June 23 referendum.
Home Secretary May, the interior minister, was declared the new leader of the governing centre-right Conservative Party on Monday after junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom, her only remaining challenger for the post, withdrew from the contest.
May faces immediate questions on when she plans to trigger Article 50 - the formal procedure for withdrawal from the EU - which would set a two-year deadline for completing exit negotiations. Before the leadership contest was cut short by Leadsom's departure, she had said she did not foresee doing so before the end of the year at the earliest.
While May supported Britain staying in the bloc, she cut a low profile during the referendum campaign and insists she will honour the popular vote, stressing on Monday:"Brexit means Brexit".
May also noted the need 'to negotiate the best deal for Britain in leaving the EU' in brief comments outside parliament.
Cameron was to face MPs in parliament for a final time in the weekly prime minister's questions session, before meeting Queen Elizabeth II to tender his resignation to the head of state. The monarch will then call for May, the new leader of the majority party in parliament, to form a fresh government.
May, 59, will become Britain's second female prime minister after 1980s Conservative titan Margaret Thatcher.
