Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption EU vote: David Cameron says the UK "needs fresh leadership" 
 
 Prime Minister David Cameron is to step down by October after the UK voted to leave the European Union. 
 
 Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, he said "fresh leadership" was needed. 
 
 The PM had urged the country to vote Remain but was defeated by 52% to 48% despite London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backing staying in. 
 
 UKIP leader Nigel Farage hailed it as the UK's "independence day", while Boris Johnson said the result would not mean "pulling up the drawbridge". 
 
 Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was "absolutely determined" to keep Scotland in the EU so a second Scottish independence referendum was now "highly likely". 
 
 German chancellor Angela Merkel expressed "great regret" at the outcome, and EU chiefs said they expected the UK to begin negotiations to leave "as soon as possible, however painful that process may be". 
 
 But Boris Johnson, the ex-London mayor and public face of Vote Leave who is now a front-runner to be next prime minister, said there was "no need for haste" about severing the UK's ties. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Boris Johnson: "There is no need for haste" 
 
 He said voters had "searched in their hearts" and the UK now had a "glorious opportunity" to pass its own laws, set its own taxes and control its own borders. 
 
 Another leading Leave campaigner, Labour's Gisela Stuart, said the UK would be a "good neighbour" when it left the EU. 
 
 The pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 as the markets reacted to the results. 
 
 The slide halted when the Bank of England said it stood ready with £250bn of extra funding to ensure market stability. But the pound remains 8% down against the dollar, and 6% lower against the euro. 
 
 Flanked by his wife Samantha, Mr Cameron announced shortly after 08:15 BST that he had informed the Queen of his decision to remain in place for the short term and to then hand over to a new prime minister by the time of the Conservative conference in October. 
 
 He would attempt to "steady the ship" over the coming weeks and months, but that it would be for the new prime minister to carry out negotiations with the EU and invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would give the UK two years to negotiate its withdrawal, he said. 
 
 "The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected," said Mr Cameron. "The will of the British people is an instruction that must be delivered." 
 
 Area-by-area in maps: See how people voted 
 
 Bank of England governor Mark Carney said UK banks' "substantial capital and huge liquidity" allowed them to continue to lend to businesses and households. 
 
 Chancellor George Osborne said he had briefed G7 finance ministers about the consequences of the vote. 
 
 On Twitter, he said it had been a "hard-fought campaign" and while it was not the outcome he wanted, "I will do all I can to make it work". 
 
 The referendum turnout was 71.8% - with more than 30 million people voting - the highest turnout at a UK-wide vote since 1992. 
 
 Mr Farage - who has campaigned for the past 20 years for Britain to leave the EU - told cheering supporters: "This will be a victory for ordinary people, for decent people." 
 
 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who called for the UK to remain in the EU but was accused of a lukewarm campaign, said poorer communities were "fed up" with cuts and felt "marginalised by successive governments". 
 
 There have been calls for him to consider his position after some of the strongest votes to leave the EU came from traditional Labour heartlands. 
 
 Senior backbencher Dame Margaret Hodge has tabled a motion of no confidence, which has the support of eight other Labour MPs, urging Mr Corbyn to resign. The motion could be debated and voted on by Labour MPs next week. 
 
 Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said Labour's leader had been "utterly gutless" in the way he approached the campaign. 
 
 But major unions, which fund the party, have urged Labour MPs not to create a leadership crisis. 
 
 Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said his party needed to "gear up" for a possible snap election and that he was "disappointed" at Dame Margaret's intervention. 
 
 What happens next? 
 
 Saturday 
 
 Nicola Sturgeon to hold a cabinet meeting at Holyrood 
 
 Monday 
 
 Prime minister to chair a Cabinet meeting 
 
 Executive of backbench 1922 committee of Conservative MPs to draw up the timetable for the Conservative leadership contest 
 
 MPs to return from Parliamentary recess for sitting in afternoon 
 
 Parliamentary Labour Party to discuss a motion of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn, if chairman allows 
 
 Tuesday 
 
 European Parliament to hold an emergency session to discuss referendum result 
 
 EU Council meeting: national leaders will hold a two-day summit 
 
 If motion of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn is accepted, Labour MPs to hold secret ballot on his future 
 
 Wednesday 
 
 Following the EU Council meeting, 27 leaders meet, without Mr Cameron round the table 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Boris Johnson: "There is no need for haste" 
 
 Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Samantha Cameron looked on as the PM announced he was stepping down 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Remain campaigners looked glum as the result became clear overnight... 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption As Leave campaigners celebrated 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed "great regret" at the result 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said a second independence referendum was "on the table" 
 
 Mr Johnson and fellow Leave campaigner Michael Gove paid tribute to Mr Cameron as they addressed Vote Leave supporters in London alongside Ms Stuart. 
 
 Mr Johnson said the UK was "no less united... nor indeed any less European" following the decision to leave the EU. 
 
 Meanwhile, at a press conference in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said a second Scottish referendum was "on the table" and that the Scottish government would prepare legislation to enable one. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nigel Farage: "Dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom" 
 
 The European Parliament is to hold an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss the referendum result. 
 
 On Twitter, EU Parliament president Martin Schulz called for a "speedy and clear exit negotiation". 
 
 A less than united Kingdom 
 
 Mark Easton, BBC home editor 
 
 Image copyright Reuters 
 
 The EU referendum has revealed an ancient, jagged fault line across the United Kingdom. It is a scar that has sliced through conventional politics and traditional social structures, and it is far from clear whether the kingdom can still call itself united. 
 
 The referendum was ostensibly about membership of the European Union. But voters took it to be asking a different question: what kind of country do you want Britain to be? 
 
 Yesterday seemed to offer a fork in the road: one path (Remain) promised it would lead to a modern world of opportunity based on interdependence; the other (Leave) was advertised as a route to an independent land that would respect tradition and heritage. 
 
 Which path people took depended on the prism through which they saw the world. 
 
 Read more from Mark 
 
 Britain is set to be the first country to leave the EU since its formation - but the Leave vote does not immediately mean Britain ceases to be a member of the 28-nation bloc. 
 
 That process could take a minimum of two years, with Leave campaigners suggesting during the referendum campaign that it should not be completed until 2020 - the date of the next scheduled general election. 
 
 Image copyright AP Image caption Traders in Tokyo monitor exchange rates 
 
 Once Article 50 has been triggered a country can not rejoin without the consent of all member states. 
 
 Mr Cameron previously said he would trigger Article 50 as soon as possible after a Leave vote but Mr Johnson and Mr Gove, who led the campaign to get Britain out of the EU, have said he should not rush into it. 
 
 They also said they wanted to make immediate changes before the UK actually leaves the EU, such as curbing the power of EU judges and limiting the free movement of workers, potentially in breach of the UK's treaty obligations. 
 
 The government will also have to negotiate its future trading relationship with the EU and fix trade deals with non-EU countries. 
 
 In Whitehall and Westminster, there will now begin the massive task of unstitching the UK from more than 40 years of EU law, deciding which directives and regulations to keep, amend or ditch. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption An angry crowd booed Boris Johnson as he left his north London home 
 
 The Leave campaign argued during a bitter four-month referendum campaign that the only way Britain could "take back control" of its own affairs would be to leave the EU. 
 
 Leave dismissed warnings from economists and international bodies about the economic impact of Brexit as "scaremongering" by a self-serving elite. 
 
 The CBI said many businesses would be concerned about the referendum result. 
 
 It said "the urgent priority now is to reassure the markets", but warned against "rushed decisions". 
 
 Find the result in your area ||||| Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha smiles as they leave after voting in the EU referendum in London, Thursday June 23, 2016. Polls opened in Britain Thursday for a referendum... (Associated Press) 
 
 Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha smiles as they leave after voting in the EU referendum in London, Thursday June 23, 2016. Polls opened in Britain Thursday for a referendum on whether the country should quit the European Union bloc of which it has been a member for 43 years.... (Associated Press) 
 
 LONDON (AP) — The Latest on Britain's historic vote to leave the European Union (all times local): 
 
 8:25 a.m. 
 
 Prime Minister David Cameron says he will resign by the fall and insists the British people's will must be respected after voters chose to leave the 28-nation European Union. 
 
 Cameron says there can be no doubt about the result of Thursday's historic vote but that he is not the "captain" that will steer the ship through difficult negotiations with the EU. 
 
 He says he will resign by the time of the Conservative party conference in the fall. 
 
 British stocks are plunging as the market opens as investors scramble to react to the news. The pound has hit a 31-year low. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:20 a.m. 
 
 Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told Australians that Britain's decision to leave the European Union was no cause "to be alarmed." 
 
 But he said the global uncertainty and instability the decision would cause underscored the need for Australians to re-elect his conservative coalition at elections on July 2. 
 
 "This is a momentous and historic decision and we respect the wishes of the British people," Turnbull told reporters in Devonport. 
 
 "It is important to remember that the Australian economy is strong and resilient and has weathered global shocks before," he added. 
 
 Turnbull said he was "very confident" that Australia, a former British colony which maintains constitutional links, would continue negotiating a free trade agreement with the EU. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:15 a.m. 
 
 British stocks are plunging as the market opens as investors scramble to react to the news that the country has voted to leave the European Union. 
 
 The result of Thursday's historic vote has ushered in an era of uncertainty for the country and region. 
 
 The main stock index, the FTSE 100, nosedived 8.7 percent to 5,790 points shortly after the open Friday. The British pound, which trades around the clock, has plunged to a 31-year low at $1.3706. 
 
 The German DAX index, which tends to be more volatile, dropped as much as 10 percent. If that loss stands for the day, it would be the biggest drop in the index's history. 
 
 An exit from the EU is expected to weigh heavily on the British economy in coming months and years, possibly pushing it into recession. The drop in the pound could drive up inflation, and the uncertainty over the country's future trade relations could cause businesses to hold back on investment. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:10 a.m. 
 
 Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said that beyond "the blow" Britain has dealt the European Union, the referendum result must be seized on to fundamentally rethink the European project. 
 
 Michel said he wants a special "conclave" of EU leaders as soon as next month to reassess options, considering discontent is spreading even well beyond Britain. 
 
 He says "we need to keep a cool head and need to see what new way of cooperation would be possible. 
 
 He proposes a conclave in July to use this tough moment to look at a new perspective." 
 
 ___ 
 
 8:05 a.m. 
 
 Germany's vice chancellor says it's a bad day for Europe after British voters chose to leave the European Union. 
 
 Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany's economy minister, wrote on Twitter: "Damn! A bad day for Europe." 
 
 Germany is the most populous country in the 28-nation EU and has its biggest economy. 
 
 Leaders in past months have been emphasizing that while it was up to the British people to decide, Germany wanted Britain to remain in the European Union. 
 
 ___ 
 
 8 a.m. 
 
 European Union President Donald Tusk says the bloc will meet without Britain at summit next week to assess its future after British voters chose to leave the 28-nation bloc. 
 
 Tusk says the group is "determined to keep our unity at 27" nations and not have any more defections. 
 
 Speaking in Brussels on Friday, Tusk says he is confident in the EU's future, adding that "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:55 a.m. 
 
 The president of the European Parliament says he expects negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union to start quickly. 
 
 Martin Schulz told Germany's ZDF television Friday that he expects British Prime Minister David Cameron to invoke Article 50 of the EU treaty, which would set in motion the exit process. 
 
 Schulz says years of suspense would be "neither in the interests of Great Britain nor in the interests of Germany, France, Italy or the other member states of the EU." 
 
 He says: "I assume that the negotiations on the exit will now start quickly." 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:50 a.m. 
 
 French President Francois Hollande has convened an emergency government meeting in the wake of the British vote to leave the European Union. 
 
 Hollande's office announced the Friday morning meeting, saying only that it would be about Europe's future. 
 
 Hollande has not publicly commented on the result of the British vote, which will have consequences for the whole continent. 
 
 French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is more popular in polls than Hollande, called Friday for a similar anti-EU referendum in France. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:40 a.m. 
 
 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says British Prime Minister David Cameron must move urgently to stabilize the pound, which was trading around $1.3706 Friday morning after plummeting to a 31-year low. 
 
 Corbyn also says Britain's main opposition party will oppose any emergency budget or expansion of Britain's austerity program resulting from the Thursday vote to leave the European Union. 
 
 The Bank of England says it's ready to take "all necessary steps" to help keep Britain stable after voters chose to leave the 28-nation bloc. 
 
 Corbyn says British manufacturing depends on trade with the EU and called for careful steps to preserve British trade. He and other senior Labour figures had urged voters to remain in the EU. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:35 a.m. 
 
 Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso said he is "extremely concerned" about the impact and risks of Britain's exit from the European Union on global financial markets. 
 
 "I'm extremely concerned about possible risks that the apparent decision would pose on global financial and currency markets, where stability is very important," Aso told reporters in an emergency news conference. 
 
 British voters have chosen to leave the EU, shattering the framework for continental unity. 
 
 Aso said he is particularly concerned about the nervous movement in the currency markets and hoped to see "firm intervention whenever necessary." The British pound has tanked to $1.3706 after hitting a 31-year low earlier Friday. 
 
 7:30 a.m. 
 
 UK Independence Leader Nigel Farage says Britain's decision to leave the European Union is "a victory for ordinary people, against the big banks, big business and big politics." 
 
 Speaking Friday morning after the shocking British vote to leave the bloc, Farage insists the EU itself is dying. He called for June 23 to be made a new national bank holiday known as Independence Day. 
 
 Far-right leaders in France and the Netherlands have already called for a similar anti-EU vote. 
 
 __ 
 
 7:25 a.m. 
 
 Commuters at the main train station in the well-heeled southwest London borough of Richmond, which voted overwhelmingly to remain, expressed anger and frustration at the British vote to leave the EU. 
 
 "I'm quite shocked really," said Martin Laidler. "My nine-year-old daughter asked me to vote to remain, so I was voting for her future." 
 
 Olivia Sangster-Bullers, 24, said the result was "absolutely disgusting." 
 
 "My best friend and his partner, one of them is from Spain. How does he feel now?" 
 
 Asked whether it would affect her life, she said: "I've just seen that the pound's crashed, so good luck to all of us I say, especially those trying to build a future with our children." 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:20 a.m. 
 
 The Bank of England says it's ready to take "all necessary steps" to help keep Britain stable after voters chose to leave the 28-nation European Union. 
 
 The results of the vote Thursday have shaken global markets and caused the pound to tank, which will cause a slide in inflation, a major concern for the central bank. Investors are also poised to dump British stocks as soon as the market opens in London on Friday. 
 
 The bank says Friday it had prepared with extensive contingency planning and "is working closely with HM Treasury, other domestic authorities and overseas central banks." 
 
 The bank says it will take "all necessary steps" to meet its responsibilities for monetary and fiscal stability. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:10 a.m. 
 
 The United States is reacting cautiously to the decision by Britain's voters to bolt the 28-nation European Union, with a White House official saying only that President Barack Obama is being kept up to date on developments. 
 
 The official said Obama was expected to speak with British Prime Minister David Cameron "over the course of the next day." 
 
 Obama has encouraged Britain to remain in the EU but has said the decision ultimately was up to British voters. 
 
 — By Kevin Freking. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7:05 a.m. 
 
 Analysts are cutting their estimates for Britain's economic growth after the country voted to leave the European Union, ushering in a period of high uncertainty that is likely to shake businesses, consumers and markets for some time. 
 
 Howard Archer, the global economist for IHS Global Insight, says his research group is slashing its growth forecast for this year to 1.5 percent from 2.0 percent and, more dramatically, to 0.2 percent for next year from 2.4 percent previously. 
 
 Archer expects the Bank of England to switch from hoping to raise interest rates soon to cutting them by a quarter point to 0.25 percent before long. 
 
 He says: "Major economic and political uncertainty will be a fact of life for some considerable time, likely weighing down markedly on business and household confidence and behavior, so dampening corporate investment, employment and consumer spending." 
 
 Analysts at Capital Economics have the same growth forecasts for 2016 but are more hopeful about 2017, seeing 1.5 percent growth. 
 
 ___ 
 
 7 a.m. 
 
 French far-right leader Marine Le Pen says there should be a similar referendum about EU membership in France after Britons voted to leave the 28-nation bloc. 
 
 "A victory for Freedom," Le Pen tweeted. "We now need the same referendum in France and in EU nations." 
 
 In the Netherlands, her ally Geert Wilders of the far-right PVV party also immediately called for a similar plebiscite. 
 
 Britons voted 52 percent to 48 percent on Thursday to leave the EU to take greater control of the country's economy and its borders. The decision has shocked global markets and sent the pound plummeting to the lowest level in 31 years. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:55 a.m. 
 
 Top European Union officials are hunkering down in Brussels trying to work out how to navigate uncharted waters after the shocking decision by British voters to leave the 28-nation bloc. 
 
 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is hosting talks Friday with the leaders of the European Council and Parliament, along with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. 
 
 The four will try to agree a European position on the vote, which could see a member country leave the bloc for the first time ever, ahead of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels starting on Tuesday. 
 
 Parliamentary leaders were meeting separately, and European commissioners — the EU's executive body — could hold separate talks later. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:50 a.m. 
 
 Shocked investors are ready to dump British stocks as soon as the market opens at 0700 GMT (3 a.m. EDT). 
 
 Futures for the benchmark stock index FTSE 100 are down 7.5 percent and the pound, which trades 24 hours a day, has already fallen to its lowest level since 1985 after British voters took the historic decision to pull their country out of the 28-nation European Union. 
 
 The British currency was down 7.9 percent against the dollar at $1.3406, the lowest level in 31 years. It was down 5.1 percent against the euro, at 1.2193 euros. 
 
 Britain's decision to leave the EU launches what will be years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with the EU. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:40 a.m. 
 
 The head of the biggest political bloc in the European Parliament says the U.K. vote to leave the EU is damaging but that the decision is for Britain, not the European Union. 
 
 European People's Party chairman Manfred Weber says Friday that the vote "causes major damage to both sides, but in first line to the U.K." 
 
 Weber added that "this was a British vote, not a European vote. People in the other states don't want to leave Europe." 
 
 Britons voted 52 percent to 48 percent on Thursday to leave the EU to take greater control of the country's economy and borders. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:30 a.m. 
 
 One of the leaders of the victorious 'leave' campaign has reassured the European Union that Britain will continue to be a good neighbor after its unprecedented vote to leave the bloc. 
 
 Labour lawmaker Gisela Stuart, who was born in Germany, spoke in German to say that "Britain is an open society, it is a welcoming society and we will continue to be cooperating with European countries on an international level." 
 
 As the British pound and global stock markets fell at the shocking result, Stuart says "it is incumbent on all of us to be very calm, remember that our responsibility is to the future of the United Kingdom, and work together to start a process." 
 
 She says "in the long run, I think that both Europe and the United Kingdom will emerge stronger as a result." 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:25 a.m. 
 
 Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders is calling for a plebiscite in the Netherlands about leaving the European Union after Britons voted to ditch the 28-nation bloc. 
 
 Wilders tweeted: "Hurrah for the British! Now it is our turn. Time for a Dutch referendum!" 
 
 EU officials have long suspected that a British decision to leave the bloc would be quickly claimed as a victory among the far left and right in European politics. 
 
 The British vote is considered a political earthquake that will shatter the stability of the continental unity forged after World War II. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:15 a.m. 
 
 As dawn broke over London, those who wanted Britain to stay in the European Union woke up to grim news: voters had chosen instead to leave the 28-nation bloc. 
 
 Veteran Labour lawmaker Keith Vaz says "this is a crushing, crushing decision. This is a terrible day for Europe." 
 
 Green lawmaker Caroline Lucas said she was devastated by the news, blaming "alienation, anger and frustration" for the results of Thursday's vote. 
 
 "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, a prominent "remain" campaigner, says "I don't think I've ever wanted magic more" in a Twitter message. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:05 a.m. 
 
 Britain has voted to leave the European Union to take greater control of its economy and its borders, shattering the stability of the continental unity forged after World War II. 
 
 The decision launches what will be years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with the EU, which will shrink to a 27-nation bloc. 
 
 Results released early Friday show the "leave" side prevailed 52 percent to 48 percent in Thursday's vote as tallied by British broadcasters. The vote had a turnout of 72 percent. 
 
 The U.K. is the first major country to decide to leave the bloc, which evolved from the ashes of the war as the region's leaders sought to build links and avert future hostility. 
 
 Financial authorities around the world have warned that a British exit will reverberate through a delicate global economy. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:50 a.m. 
 
 Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon says her country cast an "unequivocal" vote to remain in the European Union — a result that raises the specter of a new referendum on Scottish independence. 
 
 Sturgeon said "the vote here makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union." 
 
 All 32 voting areas in Scotland voted to stay in the EU, but they were outnumbered by a strong English "leave" vote. 
 
 Scotland rejected independence from the UK in its own 2014 referendum, but Friday's result gives new momentum to the cause. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:40 a.m. 
 
 Britain's vote to leave the 28-nation European Union is likely to cost Prime Minister David Cameron his job. 
 
 The leader of the ruling Conservative Party had staked his reputation on keeping Britain in the EU. 
 
 Former London Mayor Boris Johnson, the most prominent supporter of the "leave" campaign, is now seen as a leading contender to replace Cameron. 
 
 Cameron promised the referendum to appease the right wing of his own party and blunt a challenge from the U.K. Independence Party, which pledged to leave the EU. After winning a majority in Parliament in the last election, Cameron negotiated a package of reforms that he said would protect Britain's sovereignty and prevent EU migrants from moving to the U.K. to claim public benefits. 
 
 Critics charged that the reforms were hollow, leaving Britain at the mercy of bureaucrats in Brussels and doing nothing to stem the tide of European immigrants coming to the U.K. Those concerns were magnified after more than 1 million people from the Middle East and Africa flooded into the EU last year. 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:25 a.m. 
 
 The result of the British referendum has shocked the markets but delighted "leave" campaigners. 
 
 "The dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom," U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage declared to loud cheers at a "leave" campaign party. "Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day!" 
 
 As results poured in Friday morning, a picture emerged of a sharply divided nation: Strong pro-EU votes in the economic and cultural powerhouse of London and semi-autonomous Scotland were countered by sweeping anti-Establishment sentiment for an exit across the rest of England, from southern seaside towns to rust-belt former industrial powerhouses in the north. 
 
 Deputy Labour Party leader John McDonnell says "a lot of people's grievances are coming out and we have got to start listening to them." 
 
 ___ 
 
 5:15 a.m. 
 
 Britain has entered uncharted waters after the country voted to leave the European Union, according to a projection by all main U.K. broadcasters. The decision shatters the stability of the continental unity forged after World War II in hopes of making future conflicts impossible. 
 
 The decision raises the likelihood of years of negotiations over trade, business and political links with what will become a 27-nation bloc. In essence the vote marks the start — rather than the end — of a process that could take decades to unwind. 
 
 The "leave" side was ahead by 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent Friday morning with more than three-quarters of votes tallied, making a "remain" win a statistical near-impossibility. 
 
 The pound suffered one of its biggest one-day falls in history, plummeting more than 10 percent in six hours, from about $1.50 to below $1.35, on concern that severing ties with the single market will hurt the U.K. economy and undermine London's position as a global financial center. ||||| FILE- In this Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, file photo, judges preside over a hearing at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The European Union's top court ruled Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, that Britain... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE- In this Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, file photo, judges preside over a hearing at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The European Union's top court ruled Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, that Britain can change its mind over Brexit, boosting the hopes of people who want to stay in the EU that the process... (Associated Press) 
 
 BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's top court ruled Monday that Britain can change its mind over Brexit, boosting the hopes of people who want to stay in the EU that the process can be reversed. 
 
 The European Court of Justice ruled that when an EU member country has notified its intent to leave, "that member state is free to revoke unilaterally that notification." 
 
 Britain voted in 2016 to leave the 28-nation bloc, and invoked Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in March 2017, triggering a two-year exit process. 
 
 Article 50 contains few details, in part because the idea of any country leaving was considered unlikely. 
 
 A group of Scottish legislators had asked the ECJ to rule on whether the U.K. can pull out of the withdrawal procedure on its own. 
 
 The Luxembourg-based ECJ said that given the absence of any exit provision in Article 50, countries are able to change their mind in line with their own constitutional arrangements and that such a move "reflects a sovereign decision." 
 
 The British government is free to do so as long as no withdrawal agreement has entered force. 
 
 A member state can also choose to change its mind in the case where no agreement has been reached, as long as the two-year time limit, including any transition period, has not expired. 
 
 Scotland's Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell described the ruling as "hugely important." 
 
 "People in Scotland overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU," he said. "This judgment exposes as false the idea that the only choice is between a bad deal negotiated by the U.K. government or the disaster of no deal." 
 
 British Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly said the government will not seek to delay or reverse Brexit. 
 
 But the court's opinion is another headache for the Conservative prime minister as she battles to win Parliament's backing through a crucial vote scheduled for Tuesday for the divorce deal she has agreed with the EU. 
 
 British Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who helped drive the Brexit campaign, said the court ruling would have no real impact. 
 
 "We don't want to stay in the EU ... so this case is very well but it doesn't alter the referendum vote or the clear intention of the government that we leave on March 29," Gove told the BBC. 
 
 May, meanwhile, was scrambling to change lawmakers' minds and stave off defeat. 
 
 The government insisted Monday that Tuesday's vote will be held as scheduled, amid pressure to delay it to avoid a defeat that could sink May's deal, her premiership, or both. 
 
 May's government does not have a majority in the House of Commons, and opposition parties — as well as dozens of Conservative lawmakers — say they will not back the divorce deal that May and EU leaders agreed last month. 
 
 Pro-Brexit lawmakers say the deal keeps Britain bound too closely to the EU, while pro-EU politicians say it erects barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner and leaves many details of the future relationship undecided. 
 
 The main sticking point is a "backstop" provision that aims to guarantee an open border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland post-Brexit. The measure would keep Britain under EU customs rules, and is supposed to last until superseded by permanent new trade arrangements. Critics say it could leave Britain tied to the EU indefinitely, unable to strike new trade deals around the world. 
 
 May and the EU both insist the withdrawal agreement can't be changed. But May spoke over the weekend to European Council President Donald Tusk, who will chair an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, amid signs she is seeking to tweak the deal to win over skeptical lawmakers. 
 
 "Of course we can improve this deal, and the prime minister is seeking to improve this deal," Gove said. 
 
 But, he warned, "by reopening it, there is a risk that we may not necessarily get everything that we wish for." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Lawless reported from London. ||||| Voters have voted in favor of Brexit: British exit from the European Union. That means that in the coming months, British and European leaders will begin negotiating the terms of Britain's departure. 
 
 Britain's exit will affect the British economy, immigration policy, and lots more. It will take years for the full consequences to become clear. But here are some of the most important changes we can expect in the coming months. 
 
 The process of leaving the EU will take years 
 
 Britain's vote to leave the EU is not legally binding, and there are a few ways it could theoretically be blocked or overturned. However, as the BBC notes, "it would be seen as political suicide to go against the will of the people as expressed in a referendum." 
 
 Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union establishes the procedures for a member state to withdraw from the EU. It requires the member state to notify the EU of its withdrawal and obliges the EU to then try to negotiate a withdrawal agreement with that state. 
 
 Britain's "Leave" vote, however, does not represent that formal notification. That notification could take place within days — for example, when EU member countries meet for a summit that is scheduled for June 28 to 29. Or British officials might wait a few months to pull the trigger. 
 
 Once Britain invokes Article 50, it will have a two-year window in which to negotiate a new treaty to replace the terms of EU membership. Britain and EU leaders would have to hash out issues like trade tariffs, migration, and the regulation of everything from cars to agriculture. 
 
 In the best-case scenario, Britain may be able to negotiate access to the European market that isn’t that different from what it has now. Norway is not a member of the EU, but it has agreed to abide by a number of EU rules in exchange for favorable access to the European Common Market. 
 
 The vote has forced Prime Minister David Cameron to resign 
 
 British Prime Minister David Cameron didn’t want to hold a vote on Brexit at all. But in 2014, he faced growing pressure from the populist right over immigration and Britain’s EU membership. To mollify dissenters in his own party and stop the rise of the far-right UK Independence Party, Cameron promised to hold a referendum on leaving the EU if his Conservative Party won the 2015 election. 
 
 The Conservatives surprised pollsters by winning an outright majority in Parliament, and Cameron kept his promise. But he wasn’t personally in favor of exiting the EU, and he campaigned vigorously for a "Remain" vote. At the same time, he allowed other members of his government to campaign on the other side. This created the spectacle of senior members of the UK government, from the same party, campaigning on opposite sides of one of the biggest issues in British politics in decades. 
 
 Not long after Thursday's results became clear, Cameron announced that he would resign by October. It's unclear what will happen next, but one likely outcome will be for Cameron to be replaced by Boris Johnson, a member of Cameron's Conservative Party and former London mayor who campaigned for a Leave vote. It's also possible that the Conservative Party will splinter so badly that no one is able to claim a parliamentary majority, forcing early elections. 
 
 The Brexit will cause problems for Britain's economy 
 
 In the short run, uncertainty about Britain’s future relationship with the EU, its largest trading partner, could push the UK into a recession. Friday saw huge market volatility. The British pound has lost about 9 percent of its value since Thursday's vote, and Britain's FTSE 100 stock index lost 3 percent of its value in Friday trading. When you consider that the FTSE is priced in pounds, that means British stocks are down more than 10 percent in real terms. 
 
 And that volatility reflects market worries about more severe consequences in the months ahead. With Cameron out of power, Britain’s prospects of negotiating a favorable deal with the EU could be weakened. The EU may decide to strike a hard bargain to discourage other countries from leaving the EU. Or the UK’s new leader might not be willing to accept the kind of restrictions that come with a Norway-style deal. 
 
 And that could create serious problems for businesses based in the UK. 
 
 "If you are Nissan or some other car producer with major production in the UK, today, the same safety standards and environmental standards allow you to sell everywhere in the European market," Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told me. But if the UK leaves the EU, "you would no longer be able to sell into other European markets, not because you face a small tariff but because you'd have to go through another set of safety certifications. This kind of thing would be repeated in every industry you can think of." 
 
 Critics say the economic effects could be large. The UK government has estimated that exiting the EU could cause the British economy to be between 3.8 and 7.5 percent smaller by 2030 — depending on how well negotiations for access to the European market ultimately go. Other reports have found smaller but still significant impacts. 
 
 The Brexit means significant uncertainty for migrants 
 
 One of the most important and controversial achievements of the EU was the establishment of the principle of free movement among EU countries. A citizen of one EU country has an unfettered right to live and work anywhere in the EU. Both Britons and foreigners have taken advantage of this opportunity. 
 
 Currently there are about 1.2 million Brits living in other EU countries, while about 3 million non-British EU nationals live in Britain. Thanks to EU rules, they were able to move across the English Channel with a minimum of paperwork. Britain’s exit from the EU could change that profoundly. 
 
 It’s possible, of course, that Britain could negotiate a new treaty with the EU that continues to allow free movement between the UK and the EU. But resentment of EU immigrants — especially from poorer, economically struggling countries like Poland and Lithuania — was a key force driving support for Brexit. So the British government will be under immense pressure to refuse to continue the current arrangement. 
 
 At a minimum, that would mean that people moving to or from Britain would need to worry about passports and residency rules. And it could mean that some British immigrants may lose their right to continue living and working in the UK and be deported. 
 
 "The withdrawal process is unprecedented," a British government spokesperson said a few weeks ago. "There is a great deal of uncertainty about how it would work." 
 
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 Brexit could trigger a breakup of the UK 
 
 Brexit could also change the United Kingdom in a more fundamental way. It's called the "United" Kingdom because it's made up of four "countries" — England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. But with Britain now on its way out of the EU, there's a danger it won't stay united for very long. 
 
 Scotland supported Remain on Thursday by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent. And the Scots in particular have never been entirely satisfied with English domination, as shown by the 44 percent of Scottish people who voted to make Scotland an independent country in 2014. They like having the UK be part of the EU in part because it provides a counterweight to English power within the UK. 
 
 So Britain's exit from the EU could strengthen the hand of Scottish separatists. A key Scottish leader has already signaled that she wants to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence. If that vote succeeded, Scotland would likely petition for admission to the EU in its own right. 
 
 A similar, but possibly more troubling, situation could emerge in Ireland, which has long been divided between a protestant North that's part of the UK and an independent Irish republic in the South. Tensions across the border have been minimized by EU rules guaranteeing the right to move across the border. But if the UK withdraws from the EU, the border could become more important and tensions over territory could flare up. 
 
 Perhaps for this reason, voters in Northern Ireland supported Remain 56 percent to 44 percent. There's a chance that a UK exit from the EU could provide renewed momentum for Northern Ireland to try to leave the UK and unify with the rest of Ireland. 
 
 Read more 
 
 Watch: How the euro caused the 2015 Greek crisis ||||| LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May should stop misleading voters and admit that Brexit can be avoided if Britain decides unilaterally to scrap divorce talks, the man who drafted Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty said on Friday. 
 
 Former British ambassador to the EU, John Kerr, poses for a photograph following a news conference, in central London, Britain November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Simon Dawson 
 
 May, who formally notified the European Union of Britain’s intention to leave the EU by triggering Article 50 of the treaty on March 29, said she would not tolerate any attempt in parliament to block Brexit. 
 
 By triggering Article 50, May set the clock ticking on a two-year exit process that has so far failed to yield a divorce deal and which was interrupted by her gamble on a snap election in June which cost her party its majority in parliament. 
 
 “While the divorce talks proceed, the parties are still married. Reconciliation is still possible,” John Kerr, British ambassador to the EU from 1990 to 1995, said in a speech in London. 
 
 “We can change our minds at any stage during the process,” said Kerr, who added that the legalities of Article 50 had been misrepresented in Britain. “The British people have the right to know this: they shouldn’t be misled.” 
 
 The day May triggered Article 50, she told the British parliament that there was “no turning back” and on Friday insisted that the United Kingdom would be leaving the EU at 2300 GMT on March 29 2019. 
 
 In a June 2016 referendum, 51.9 percent of voters backed leaving the EU while 48.1 percent wanted to remain. 
 
 Brexit supporters argue any attempt to halt the exit process would be anti-democratic, while opponents say the country should have a right to pass final judgment on any exit deal negotiated. 
 
 May, an initial opponent of Brexit who won the top job in the political turmoil that followed the vote, said last month that Britain would not revoke Article 50. 
 
 Former British ambassador to the EU, John Kerr, who drafted Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, poses for a photograph following a news conference, in central London, Britain November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Simon Dawson 
 
 “NO TURNING BACK” 
 
 But ever since the referendum, opponents of Britain’s exit - from French President Emmanuel Macron and former British prime minister Tony Blair to billionaire investor George Soros - have suggested Britain could change its mind and avoid what they say will be disastrous consequences for the British economy. 
 
 Thus far, there are few signs of a change of heart on Brexit in opinion polls. Both May’s Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party now explicitly support leaving the EU, which Britain joined in 1973. 
 
 Supporters of Brexit have repeatedly said that any attempt to have another referendum, or to undermine Brexit, would catapult the world’s fifth largest economy into crisis. 
 
 “A second referendum would lead the United Kingdom into totally uncharted territory with very serious potential consequences for our democracy,” said Richard Tice, who helped found one of the two Leave campaign groups in the referendum. 
 
 Former British ambassador to the EU, John Kerr, who drafted Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, poses for a photograph following a news conference, in central London, Britain November 10, 2017. REUTERS/Simon Dawson 
 
 But the Brexit process has been challenged in a number of cases in British courts, many focusing on the as-yet unanswered question: Can Article 50 be reversed? 
 
 The 256-word clause does not say whether it can be revoked once it is invoked. This means that, if lawyers ask for clarification, the question would have to go to the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court. 
 
 Kerr, who in 2002-2003 acted as secretary-general of the European Constitutional Convention that drafted Article 50, said the debate had been misrepresented inside Britain: it was clear, he said, that May’s Article 50 letter could be revoked. 
 
 Such is the interest in the legalities of Brexit that one prominent lawyer, Jessica Simor, has formally asked for May’s unpublished legal advice on the matter. 
 
 “Britain can basically change its mind at any time right up to the 29th of March 2019,” Simor told Reuters last month. 
 
 “If you can revoke Article 50, then parliament has the power to rescue the country if that becomes necessary – if the government fails to secure a deal, or the deal is terrible, or the people do not want it.”
– Now that Britain has voted to leave the European Union, EU leaders don't see any point in dragging things out. Foreign ministers from the bloc's six founding nations held an emergency meeting in Berlin Saturday and urged Britain to trigger Article 50 as soon as possible instead of leaving months of uncertainly before negotiations begin, the Guardian reports. "We have to turn the page, we don't want to create a vacuum," says Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders. "It won't be business as usual." Prime Minister David Cameron is stepping down and he wants his successor, who might not be in place until October, to handle exit negotiations. In other developments: A petition urging the British government to hold a second referendum now has more than 1.5 million signatures, well above the 100,000 threshold that will require lawmakers to consider it. The petition calls for a do-over on the grounds that the vote in favor of a Brexit was less than 60%, based on a turnout less than 75%, the BBC reports. The New York Times looks at the rifts the British decision has opened up in the UK and across Europe. Far-right parties across Europe are now calling for referendums on leaving the EU, while a new Scottish referendum on leaving the UK now seems certain. The British vote also exposed tensions between young and old, richer and poorer, and London and much of the rest of the country. Does the Brexit victory signal electoral success for Donald Trump? The AP looks at reasons why it might not, including the fact that the US is a much more diverse nation than the UK. Scotland voted to stay in the EU, and Reuters reports that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is not only preparing for a fresh independence vote, she is seeking separate Scottish negotiations with the EU. "We will seek to enter into immediate discussions with the EU institutions and with other EU member states to explore all possible options to protect Scotland's place in the EU," she told reporters Saturday. UK Commissioner to the EU Jonathan Hill, the highest-ranking Brit in Brussels, is stepping down, the Wall Street Journal reports. "I don't believe it is right that I should carry on as the British commissioner as though nothing had happened," he said, expressing disappointment that Britain had voted against staying in the EU and pressing for an "outward-looking, flexible, competitive, free trade Europe." The Washington Post looks at the potential financial consequences of the British exit for Americans. It may make mortgages a little cheaper, for some, and will probably make vacations in the UK more affordable.