Ex-UK PM David Cameron says he shares Theresa May's pain

Former British prime minister David Cameron, who quit after the results of the 2016 Brexit referendum was confirmed, Friday offered his sympathies to his successor Theresa May, who resigned after failing to get the backing from MPs on her revised exit deal with the EU. May is the second consecutive prime minister to be toppled by Brexit - the UK's divorce deal with the 28-member European Union. May announced that she would leave office on June 7.

"I know how painful it is to accept that your time is up and a new leader is required," Cameron said, adding his hopes that her "spirit of compromise" is continued by the next Prime Minister. He said May should be thanked for her "tireless efforts" on behalf of the country.

The UK was to have left the 28-member economic bloc by March 29 but failed to meet that deadline and now faces a renewed Brexit deadline of October 31. Cameron served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016.

"I know how painful it is to accept that your time is up and a new leader is required. She has made the right decision – and I hope that the spirit of compromise is continued," he said. Speaking later in Oxfordshire, where he used to be an MP, he added: "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. This will be a very difficult day," the Press Association quoted him as saying.