Kennedy resigns

It was as sudden as it was final: in a hastily arranged statement this afternoon Charles Kennedy announced he was resigning as Liberal Democrat leader with immediate effect.

Parliamentary colleagues swiftly deserted him following his confession on Thursday that he had a drink problem - by last night more than a third were refusing to work under him.

But the turning point may have come this morning when there were signs he was losing support amongst his party activists.

>>Watch Gary Gibbon's report

>>Watch Charles Kennedy's full statement

>>What happens next?

>>Read Timeline - A breakdown of the events leading up to Charles Kennedy's resignation.

Share this article

Send this article to a friend »

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• StumbleUpon

What are these?