Despite deep political fractures surrounding the issue, the British Parliament passed a bill which would halt most prosecutions for killings by militant groups and British soldiers during the Troubles.

A long-awaited report recounted decades of harm done by church-run homes for unmarried women and their babies in Ireland, where thousands of infants died.

The father of terminally ill toddler Alfie Evans called for a truce in a divisive case that has pitted doctors and the British courts against Alfie's parents, Christian groups and Pope Francis. 

British voters will be heading to polling stations for the third time since 2015, after lawmakers overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Theresa May's call for a snap election on June 8.

Daly became a hero by administering last rites to victims on the streets amid the mayhem of the Catholic Bogside district.

"The number one challenge is to stabilize the economy, send signals of confidence about the future, the plans we have for the future, to the markets, to businesses, to international investors."

Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said there had been a "touch of sadness" to the meeting.

The announcement is an astonishing twist in a political career that saw Boris Johnson serve as lawmaker and mayor, building a public profile built on Latin quips and rumpled eccentricity, while nurturing a poorly concealed ambition to lead his country.

As results poured in, a picture emerged of a sharply divided nation.

A vote to leave the EU would destabilize the 28-nation trading bloc, created from the ashes of World War II to keep the peace in Europe. A "remain" vote would nonetheless leave Britain divided and the EU scrambling to reform.