Britain faced the stark reality of crumbling influence on the world stage on Sunday as turmoil triggered by the vote to exit the EU plunged the UK into domestic political instability.
EU leaders were preparing a timetable that would see the UK leave the bloc by the beginning of 2019 in the rapidly accelerating fallout from last Thursday’s referendum that shook the postwar European order, rocked financial markets and claimed the scalp of British prime minister David Cameron.
Mr Cameron will address parliament for the first time since the vote on Monday, with both his Conservative party and the Labour opposition in the throes of bitter leadership battles.