Cameron: I feel desperately sorry but it’s the right decision

DAVID CAMERON said he felt “desperately sorry” for Theresa May, as he explained how he could empathise better than most with her “painful” decision to stand down as Prime Minister.

Praising Mrs May’s sense of “duty and service”, the former prime minister alluded to his own resignation three years ago, when he declared that the country needed “fresh leadership” in the wake of the Brexit referendum.

Speaking near his former constituency home in Oxfordshire, Mr Cameron said: “I know what it feels like when you come to realise that your leadership time has finished, that the country needs a new leader.

“It is extremely difficult and painful to step outside of Downing Street and say those things. When you come to that moment when you know your time is up, it’s extremely hard to take. This will be a very difficult day.

“I feel desperately sorry for Theresa and Philip. She worked incredibly hard, she’s a dedicated public servant. She has made the right decision – and I hope that the spirit of compromise is continued.”

In a swipe at Tory Brexiteers – widely seen as the architects of Mrs May’s downfall – Mr Cameron said that many people were “frustrated” that the “people who most wanted Brexit in the end wouldn’t vote for it”.

Acknowledging that Brexit paralysis continued to place the UK in a “very difficult situation”, he added: “You have to compromise in politics. In the end you can’t get exactly what you want and it’s a shame people couldn’t see that.”

Looking forward to the forthcoming Tory leadership contest, Mr Cameron also offered advice to the prospective candidates, stating that Mrs May was right to say that “compromise is not a dirty word”.

He refused to comment when asked if Boris Johnson, the favourite to succeed Mrs May, would be a good prime minister, saying that he would not give a “running commentary”.

“For previous prime ministers it’s best if they give advice in private and help in private, and that’s what I always tried to do with Theresa May and her team,” he continued.

“I wish whoever it is well, they’ve got a huge job ahead of them. I’ll do everything I can to help and give advice behind the scenes if that’s sought.”