With the vote decided, attention is turning to Ireland's parliament, which will make new laws to govern abortions.

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.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said "the whole of the Labour Party and Labour family—and indeed the whole country—will be in shock at the horrific murder of Jo Cox today."